I Did Not Die

​Author: Tebello Mzamo
Publisher: Kwela Books
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
It’s hard to believe that this is the debut novel by Tebello Mzamo. It is gripping right from the beginning, starting with the prologue. The author held me captive until the last page with this soul-crushing story of a miner named Botho Pere. And thanks to no load shedding, I could read peacefully uninterrupted through the night. Tebello has a deep understanding of the complexities of 

migrant life and the disintegration of family that comes with it. The consequences are dire and real, with trauma being pass from generation to generation.
This is an unforgettable story of Botho Pere, his wife Nthatisi, his lover Jemina and their children. Botho’s misfortunes are aplenty. He dropped out of high school and decided to go and work in the mines when he was sixteen. Nthatisi on the other hand had a supportive grandmother who saw to it that she finished high school. She took a secretarial course to further her studies. By the time they get married, Botho is already a mineworker in South Africa. He has to leave his then pregnant wife behind, in Lesotho, and come back to toil the soil in Gauteng.
Almost three years go by without sight or a word from Botho. The letters he normally sends to his wife, their lifeline, have ceased to exist. Tired of being Botho’s sad, lonely wife, Nthatisi has illicit affairs. One ending with a disastrous outcome, forcing her to end her career as a secretary at the primary school in their village. Her tenacity in finding ways to survive and feed their two children is most commendable. Back in South Africa, Botho is living a double life that will eventually cost him dearly. Hearts will be broken and lives ruined. To compound all this misery and treachery is the menacing Mokoto, rumoured to be a witch hellbent on destroying Botho. 
This is a tale all too familiar in real life. Fathers leaving their families in search of greener pastures on the other side of the fence. Mothers left behind to care and fend for themselves and the children. Dreams deterred when the family’s pillar of strength is no more. Children dropping out of school, numbers of teenage pregnancies rising steeply, alcoholism rife, and communities falling apart. In our country we are still haunted by the effects of the migrant labour system, and probably will be for years, if not generations, to come. ​