Who are we becoming? Nhlamulo Sambo’s death and the crisis of nation building

YOUTH DAY REFLECTION

Nomzamo Zondo | Published 2 hours ago

‘Nation building, that is a loaded term.’

Phumi Mashigo made this remark while interviewing me on the contents of the Open Letter on the International Day of Truth that I wrote in March 2026. My social media timeline has been filled with posts about Nhlamulo Sambo’s murder .

The last one I remember shared two media articles commenting on the pictures chosen by each media house and what they were meant to say about Nhlamulo.

Unintentionally, it plunged me deep into the question of how I, as well as my colleagues at SERI (Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa) envision the nation we are building, and how it would respond to:

a. The killing of a 19 year old “man”.

b. The killing of a 19 year old “man” by a person who found him in his home, having entered it without consent.

c. The killing of a 19 year old “man” by a group who believed that he was an undocumented migrant.

In my mind, words fell like bones out of a sangoma’s bag: mourn, reflect, weaponise, transform. The short distance between the legal definition a child (a person under 18) and 19 would have prompted a correction.

Nhlamulo may not have fit the legal definition of a child but he was definitely not a man. Pictures of him with his friends, family, in his school life would have then flooded our time lines. A teacher from his primary school would have spoken about the kind of learner he was.

And then a deep sense of loss would flow, followed by an acknowledgement of the young life cut short whose future is now lost. Then questions of what could have gone wrong on that day, in his life, in the life of his killer or killers. And then a very bitter question, Kanti singobani ? Who are we?

How could our nation have produced this moment, a moment where a young person’s life is violently ended? Almost as someone waking up from a dream, I am jolted into reality. What took centre stage after Nhlamulo Sambo’s death, was not who we are, not who Nhlamulo is, but who should be blamed for his death, who is responsible, who is complicit, who is demonised and who is more righteous? Summarised into one question - who is worthy?

I was, and still am, perplexed. While quietly moving between confusion, grief and disappointment, I started to write this short note. The death of a young black man across the world always seems to elicit the same response.

As we commemorate the 1976 youth uprising, I choose reflection and transformation. I call on those who walk with me and those further away to reflect on what nation their words, silence, action and non-action is building. I call upon all of us, in commemoration of 50 years of youth uprising, to build a nation for all of our youth where they won’t be impoverished, unhoused, embittered, enslaved by alcohol and drugs, abused by criminality and exploited by the powerful.

In this nation, youth have dignity as their identity, hope for their futures, work for their hands. In this nation, adults are committed to building a future without the need for uprisings. I am sharing this note in memory of the youth we have lost and with love to all those who survive our present condition:

1. Nhlamulo Sambo, 19, and the youth of 2026.

2. Karabo Chaka, 16, Sthembiso Lawrence Mdlalose (30-) and the youth of 2023.

3. The youth who survived and died at the Enyobeni Tavern, Lindokuhle Mnguni, 28, Ayanda Ngila, 30, Maphiwe Gasela (34-), Nokuthula Mabaso, 40, and the youth of 2022.

4. Nathaniel Julies, 16, and the youth of 2020.

5. Yolanda Dyantyi (29-) #FeesMustFall, RhodesMust Fall, RUReference List, Outsourcing MustFall.

6. Thobile Mpumza, 26, Mzoxolo Magidiwana (37-), Xolani Nzuza (40-), the youth of 2012.

7. Antoinette Sithole (65-), Seth Mazibuko (66-), Tsietsi Mashinini (33) and the youth of 1976.

( Zondo is an attorney and an executive director of the non-profit human rights organisation, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI). Her views do not necessarily represent those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL )

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