Shoppers at a Woolworth's grocery store in Johannesburg were brought to tears as Soweto Gospel Choir singers, some of them posing as workers, broke out in song.
The choir members emerged from the grocery aisles to perform "Asimbonanga" ("We Have Not Seen Him"), a Zulu call for freedom written by Johnny Clegg, a British-born musician from South Africa, while Mandela was incarcerated.
Here are the lyrics:
Asimbonanga [we have not seen him]
Asimbonang’ uMandela thina [we have not seen Mandela]
Laph’ekhona [in the place where he is]
Laph’ehleli khona [in the place where he is kept]
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang ‘umfowethu thina [we have not seen our brother]
Laph’ekhona [in the place where he is]
Laph’wafela khona [in the place where he died]
Sithi: Hey, wena [We say: hey, you]
Hey, wena nawe [Hey, you and you]
Siyofika nini la’ siyakhona [when will we arrive at our destination]
Trending on Facebook
About the Author
