It was meant to provoke and a furore duly ensured. Nelson Mandela had retired as the new South Africa’s first president by then, but he still brought his immense moral authority and reprimanded Ngema. I was in South Africa around then and remember Ngema issuing a half-hearted apology that was a variant on the usual “some of my best friends are…” defence against being racist. Ngema said he loved Indian food and always ordered it in restaurants. One line from AmaNdiya alleges Zulu leaders were bought by their love for roti and paaku (curry).
