"NOKUTHULA": TRAGEDY IN THE AGE OF GAEITY By Asithandile Gxumisa
Of yore was the Age when the hearts of Men could still seize the dark solemnity in the tragedy that always haunts the affairs of their fallen world. Gaiety, in our 'enlightened' era, bestrides this globe of the machine and skyscraper - so much so that the sacred and the tragic have their price in the all-embracing marketplace. Once more some impressive reporting from Cutting Edge , an investigative programme from the national broadcaster, shed light on the veiled ailments that gnaw at the delicate fabric of our Republic. The show brought to the national attention the heart-rending tale of a Port Elizabethan mother of six, Nokuthula Mjekula. Miss Mjekula had left her home in 2016 for Cape Town in a rage over apparent neglect by her family. It would be almost four years before her family and her unlucky children would see her anew. Her disappearance stunned her family and a manhunt was launched in order to pinpoint her whereabouts. It was not long before her family was...