Today is June 16, we commemorate the lives of the 1976 youth of Soweto. Tag My School Magazine decided to remember and honour the life of a young inventor named Sibusiso Nene, a genius from Hammersdale, whom the entire community was expecting a lot from, but sadly, he had a design problem.
Sibusiso Nene, a young innovator and a brilliant mind, met his demise under mysterious circumstances. According to his father, Sibusiso Nene came back from one of the several high profile meetings he used to attend with the eThekwini officials and the Hammersdale councilor at the time, he went to bed, and in the early hours of the morning he complained about a burning sensation on his back; he felt like it was moving to his upper body. When he tried to walk, he fell to the ground.
Sickness or murder? Councilor’s questionable behaviour, threats, and political theatrics!
We called an ambulance to rush him to Marianhill Hospital, and they put him into the machine and said it was serious. Around 11 am that morning, Sbu was complaining that he was hungry and thirsty. While his brother rushed to get him food, he complained of severe heat, and from there, blood started coming out of his nose and ears. Shortly after, he died.
The picture of how my son died will never leave me.
The councilor of Hammersdale said to us that even if we can find out who killed our son, it won’t matter because this person is powerful and is feared; there is nothing that we can do. When I went to the municipality office to book a funeral hall and a burial site, I found that the councilor had already made the bookings. How did he know that my son had died, because we had not told him yet? And why did he book on our behalf without talking to us first?
I received several phone calls from anonymous numbers threatening me to stop talking about the Moses Mabhida Stadium. My wife ended up developing illnesses; at some stage, she was in a coma due to the pain of dealing with things.
Every year, there is always a political party that comes with the energy to help us find justice, but they often end up fading away. From the ANC and EFF to the MKP, they come to our home and give us false hope.
Some people have come here and promised us tight security because our lives are in danger, but who will pay for such security? Everyone comes here and makes big promises, and at the end of the day, we are left with empty promises; all that pain goes straight to us as parents.
Former eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba’s representative called me into a meeting and asked how much I wanted for the stadium. He asked me if he offered a hundred thousand rands, how many zeros would I add to that amount. I told him that we were not talking peanuts here; we were talking about the stadium. The man who was sent to negotiate with me was of questionable character. When I met him near Mugg and Bean in Hillcrest, he looked like he had been sleeping in his car.
This is when I decided to go to the police station and make an affidavit about how my son died, and now I am receiving threatening phone calls and meeting questionable characters over this matter.
Even the late Minister Meshack Hadebe used to call me and ask if the eThekwini Municipality still refused to compensate us for the stadium; he tried to intervene as well. They promised to investigate how my son died, and that there were checks that came out but never made it to us as a family. All those promises fizzled out, and we never got any answers.
Moses Mabhida SkyCar Arch Technology: Was it a Modification or Failure?
Today, we are sitting with a stadium that could have been technologically advanced as per the original design. He started the designs in 2004. I have his file with the design from the start. That stadium was supposed to calculate the attendance while people are still outside the stadium; it has special facilities for disabled fans, according to the designs. It has rain sensors and a closing roof. During my son’s funeral, the eThekwini officials came to my house to ask for the rest of the stadium designs because they wanted to know how the roof was going to function. I told them the person who designed it was in the casket. Today, I am told that I should have taken down their number plates. How, when I am busy burying my son?
Mr. Obed Mlaba was in full support of the fact that the stadium was designed by my son. He said he referred the designs to the engineers responsible for the construction of the stadium, and he doesn’t know what happened thereafter.
I have a USB explaining how the stadium should function from top to bottom. They came to me asking which way the stadium roof should close; they had already bought the steel from China, and they asked about the weather sensors, and where it was supposed to be installed.
Then there are people denying that Sibusiso designed the stadium. This is painful.
Mr. Sipho Nene, father.
Sibusiso Nene had wild imagination, a mother’s pride and joy.
At school, he joined the competition. He made a chicken feeder, and he won, went to Pretoria, and he won again and went to France. At that time, he was 14 years old.
We were very happy for him and at the same time were scared and anxious because he was still young, all there by himself without us as parents. He made so many things. He made a robot and another machine to search for the stolen cars.
To say he was a talented child is an understatement because if I go with him, maybe in Durban, he just asks, “What are you thinking of, Mom?” I’d say, “I’m thinking about what I’m going to cook for supper,” and he’d say to me, “I’m thinking of designing a pedestrian bridge there by the Marianhill tollgate.”
Then come back to the issue of Moses Mabhida. It all started at midnight. He woke up and told me he had a dream, and he was told by his great-grandfather to make the design of the stadium.
It was 2004. He crafted the design of the stadium that came from his ancestors, if I may put it that way. We went several times to Mayor Obed Mlaba. We never got a portable thing till now, but Obed told him (my son) that the whole frame that you see is done by Sbusiso Nene.
Please do something and honour him, change the name of the stadium, and write Sbusiso Nene instead. We never entered Moses Mabhida as a family because we were hurt by what happened.
Doris Nene, mother
A catalyst in Sbu’s inventions, what is a trademark and patent to the township boys in 2004?
I was one of Sbu’s close friends; we attended science expos together and entered competitions together. I first met him because I saw how talented he was, and I was also into such designs, robotics, cars, planes, and so on. He was younger than me, but due to our common interests, we ended up collaborating. Our first project was a car that he was building. I put an engine in that car, and it became an instant hit. The car was fully functional, and we drove it all over the place.
Thereafter, I invited him to enter competitions such as the science expo and so on.
Our first trip to showcase our work was in 1998 when we went to the Valley Trust in KwaNyuswa. These competitions had different stages: the first stage was regional, provincial, national, and international.
The stadium project he did independently because he was mature and highly experienced. At that time, we were focusing on our projects. He heard that there was going to be a FIFA 2010 World Cup, and in those days, whenever we heard that there was going to be a competition or a challenge of some sort, we would take on that challenge and create an invention to bring a solution. This is what he did with the stadium.
He first showcased the stadium at the science expo for young scientists, where the former mayor, Mr. Obed Mlaba, and other municipality officials were present. From then on, the mayor and his officials used to invite Sbu to private meetings to ask questions about how the stadium was going to function. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end of his life. It was around this time that they stole his concept. At that time, we did not have an idea about patents and trademarks. This is how the stadium idea was stolen from Sbu.
We just saw the stadium getting off the ground, and we saw a resemblance between the two stadiums.
His death was confusing because the way he died leaves us with many questions, especially since it happened after he was supposed to be compensated. They copied Sbu’s design, modified it, and built what we see today as the Moses Mabhida Stadium. The designs are credited to the German company wrongfully so because the Moses Mabhida Stadium was designed in Hammersdale, Mpumalanga, One North, by a boy named Sibusiso Nene, not in Germany.
I must also say that if we had honest leaders in this country, they would gather all the evidence because even the former Mayor Obed Mlaba is on record agreeing that the Moses Mabhida design was taken from Sibusiso Nene. If the mayor, who was part of the leading officials in the Moses Mabhida stadium project, agreed that Sibusiso was supposed to be compensated, why has he not received what’s due to him? There are voice clips and newspaper articles where the mayor is pleading that Sibusiso Nene be recognized and compensated for his role in designing the stadium.
His mom and dad deserve to see justice for their son. They are advanced in years; for them to go through such pain all these years is not right. I beg South Africa to get behind this family and get justice for Sibusiso Nene.
Thulani Thabethe, mentor and friend
A group of young inventors, fearing for their lives, hung up their creativity after the death of their friend
I met him in Grade 5 at Zaminhlanhla Primary School. We connected because we were both artists, and we did drawings in school. We were also neighbors, which made our friendship stronger. We used to build toy cars using wires and sell them to get some money.
His father was a photographer, so we used to take his film rolls and make them into wheels. Eventually, we advanced to make cars that could shine torches. We would go to the scrapyard to get a car dashboard and steal his father’s camera batteries to build our cars.
Thulani then introduced the electricity wiring, and he also invited us to the science expo.
I ended up staying over at his house, and when we had a competition, we worked day and night creating a project. He then advanced because he ended up traveling to France for his projects. We even received a bursary to study at Umbilo Coastal College. In Umbilo, there are lots of scrapyards, and so we used to go into all of them looking for car parts.
He had a file for his designs. I believe that file is there; he used to carry it wherever we went.
The scrapyards in Umbilo liked him a lot and ended up sponsoring him with new car parts for the car that he built. I didn’t even know that he could drive. I saw him coming to my house, driving the car that he had built, which was my first time seeing him driving.
Unfortunately, the car was recently destroyed because it brought too much pain to the family.
Sibusiso Nene loved football; he was a goalkeeper. I think that is one of the reasons he was passionate about designing a stadium. There was a call for members of the public to design a stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He started to design the stadium then. His version of the stadium was very advanced compared to the current Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Skycar part of the Moses Mabhida stadium, Sbu designed to hold the roof of the stadium and was going to have rain sensors installed.
That top part was very complicated to build because they did not get the full design and how it was going to work from Sibusiso Nene. They ended up turning it into a sky car and skydiving area.
His family and I have been up and down trying to get help. The former mayor of Durban, Mr. Obed, admitted to the fact that the stadium design and concept were taken from Sibusiso’s innovation. Even though, unfortunately, he is in poor health, to his credit, he never denied Sibusiso’s role in the stadium design and has called for the family to be compensated.
There were lots of us in the community as young designers. We saw how Sibusiso’s life ended, and we stopped and never wanted to do anything with science and technology. We feared for our lives as well because we were with Sibusiso throughout, and when he died, and how he died, it made us realize that if we continued with our talents, we might end up like him.
This not only affects us or our generation, but it also affects the current generation of designers in schools who, if they design something, may get killed and their ideas stolen. The Moses Mabhida Stadium could be a South African youth story of a locally designed, world-class stadium.
Sbongiseni Magwaza, friend and fellow inventor
Was Sibusiso Nene killed?
He had a passion for the science expos, and he loved playing soccer. I started to notice when he came back from overseas in France when he started to design a model called a chicken feeder, that he was more than just a dreamer, but he was the real deal. First, it was a school project, and the teachers noticed his talent; then he started to enter competitions abroad to showcase his talent.
From my knowledge, he heard that there was going to be the World Cup that was going to take place here in South Africa in 2010, and it was in need of a stadium. He was very excited about the design that he created from scratch; he used wires and steel to create it.
There was a time when he was called to have lunch with one of the politicians to talk about the design, and when he came back from that lunch, that was the last time we saw our brother alive. He died the next day. What kind of sickness starts in the evening when you are healthy before going to lunch and kills you the next day?
When we tried to reach out to the officials, we were getting threats saying we should not get involved or else we’d regret it. This is a clear indication that there is something sinister about my brother’s death.
Justice for my brother. It would mean a lot because ever since the stadium was built, we’ve not received any recognition, financial or otherwise, when there is a game taking place, and we would like the stadium to be named after him, and justice must be served.
We want Sibusiso to be remembered as a young, talented man who had big dreams, but unfortunately, that was taken away from him and my family, and his name must be included as one of the designers.
Bongekile Khoza, brother
A Loving and caring soul
Sibusiso was a bubbly, nice, collective, loving soul. He would create cars and trucks using wires. The craft was his interest, I would say. As a kid, he would dress me nicely, take me wherever he was going, and come back late, eating sweets.
When there was a project in my primary school that needed a house to be built, he was my go-to person.
Sbu was not inspired by someone or something, but he was driven by a dream/vision that occurred in his sleep of our great-grandfather. So every time he was sleeping, he would wake up and draw what he saw in the dream.
He did enter a science expo competition using that design, which he won. His work was taken by the architects to use as the basis for the Moses Mabhida Stadium. He was so happy, seeing that his dreams of using his gift to take care of his family, especially his mom, were coming true.
I was young, but I used to hear people saying we would be rich and famous, but I didn’t understand a thing. But as time went by, realizing what my brother created, I was ecstatic. I am heartbroken that he is no more.
We’ve tried many officials to help us get justice, even Mr. Obed Mlaba, who was the mayor during that time. Unfortunately, we were told he’s not doing well.
It would mean so much to us to get justice for our brother. This has been ongoing for years, also delaying for too long now. We want him to rest in peace now; it’s ENOUGH. We wish justice to be served, though he’s no longer with us.
His yellow car. That was created from scratch in the backyard of our grandparents. It was using a card to start instead of a key; that’s how much of an innovator my brother was.
My request to those who know the truth and to the South African public: please do the right thing for my brother. Though he’s no longer with us, I believe he will get peace wherever he is.”
He told his mom to keep his file safe wherever she goes because it is proof of his work. That file is full of the things he has made, such as a stadium from scratch to finish, a car, and many other designs.
Snegugu Nene, Sister
Empty Promises
Sibusiso was a humble child full of respect and extremely talented. He built the Moses Mabhida stadium using wires, which attracted the eThekwini Municipality dignitaries under the then mayor, Mr. Obed Mlaba; they loved his work. Unfortunately, Sbu died unexpectedly. At his funeral, the same municipality officials promised that Sbu would be compensated for the Moses Mabhida concept design, which inspired the current stadium.
What is disheartening is that, until today, the eThekwini Municipality and the officials that are behind the Moses Mabhida Stadium are nowhere to be found. This is despite Mayor Obed Mlaba’s approval that Sbu needs to be compensated. Rest in peace, Sbu; may you find justice soon for your hard work.
Sbu’s aunt, Mimi Sanga.
Inspire hope in his community
He was a gentleman who minded his own business. Designing, he was born gifted. As I have said previously, he was so bright that he created many things, including wire cars that he and his friends drove to town and back, a dollhouse, and even the well-known Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was supposed to be his big break. There is evidence for that.
I don’t remember the year, but he was still young when he started designing wire cars and a dollhouse. I think he got interested in innovation and technology from there.
Sbu was extremely happy and proud of himself as the first young township to design a stadium and a real car in history. I was so amazed and excited to see such a beautiful and meaningful design, especially from someone I know.
What I saw is that his family did it all to get justice, but there are those high-profile individuals who keep ignoring the matter and who have no heart to do the right thing.
They must do the right thing, serve justice to the family, and change the name of the stadium to Sibusiso Nene because they know the truth.
Hlengiwe Dhladhla, Neighbor
In Closing
The story of Sibusiso Nene was Durban’s success story for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The former Mayor, Mr. Obed Mlaba, is on record as saying that Nene’s designs were used in conceptualizing the stadium design, which in itself is evidence enough that Sibusiso Nene played a role in designing the stadium.
The numerous meetings Sibusiso was invited to by city officials are proof enough that a significant amount of information about the stadium may have been extracted from him. Illiteracy of parents and family members played to the advantage of the individuals who are alleged to have stolen the stadium concept. The stadium design by Sbu has a resemblance to the actual stadium. Now, when a design is stolen, one will not create something that looks like the original design; they will add or minus something to hide any form of evidence. If you lived in Durban in 2006, you would know that the Moses Mabhida Stadium was supposed to close its roof when it rains; it was something that was a talk of the city, and then eventually they decided against it when they built the stadium.
The KZN construction mafia is well known and has been in operation for many years. They may have been involved in the building of the stadium as part of the government’s development plan at the time. It would seem like Sibusiso Nene may have unfortunately encountered the construction mafia during those meetings where he was sharing the details about the stadium. His death was not natural, but strange, according to the medical staff at the hospital.
We are publishing this story, which has been published by many mainstream media houses, but not with such detailed information. This is to give a voice to the Nene family, friends, and the entire Hammersdale community who for years have carried the incurable scar, the pain of seeing a monumental provincial landmark such as the Moses Mabhida stadium, which their son played a critical role in conceptualizing, and his reward was a mysterious death.
We made several phone calls to the City of eThekwini, which is the owner of the stadiums, but our calls were not successful for over three weeks. We reached out to TJA Architects, a Durban company credited as one of the leading designers of the stadium. They were kind enough to talk to us, and they referred us to the City of eThekwini and stated that there are confidential agreements that they are not at liberty to disclose.
The family of Sibusiso Nene has gone from pillar to post trying to find justice, and they have hit a brick wall at every turn. They are calling on you, South Africa, to stand with them. You may have a talented child who could invent something, and end up like Sibusiso Nene one day, stand with this family, you can get in touch with them at stories@tagmyschool.co.za.