Five decades after the 1976 Soweto uprising that changed South Africa forever, little is known about its most iconic leader, the charismatic Tsietsi Mashinini.

Sam Mathe went searching, and found an enigma: a brilliantly gifted schoolboy who recited reams of poetry and excelled at debating, but who after that fateful day in June 1976 became a hunted man. Identified as a ‘ringleader’ in the uprising, Mashinini went into hiding, forsaking his loving family, sleeping on floors, sometimes dressing as a woman to elude arrest. Eventually forced into exile, he became an international celebrity, addressing the United Nations and meeting heads of state. After a lavish wedding to Miss Liberia Welma Campbell, witnessed by Miriam Makeba, he seemed destined for great things.

Yet Mashinini died sick and alone, far too soon, under mysterious circumstances. His political independence had cost him dearly. But his tragic life also stands for a larger tragedy: Of all those youths whose lives were lost or permanently derailed by their revolt against a system that denied them their humanity.

In his colourful and comprehensive account of Tsietsi Mashinini’s story, Mathe sheds new light not only on an exceptional leader, but also on the pivotal events of 16 June, some of which remain contested to this day.