KHAYELIHLE MHLONGO is 30 years old. This is his story:
“I was always angry and gave my parents a hard time. I had many grudges against my mother. I was a fighter and later became a gang leader. I was imprisoned for the first time when I was 16 years old. Everybody was afraid of me. Around 2016, I left home and went to Johannesburg. I started to drink more. My brother was selling drugs, and I joined him in 2018. The drug lord eventually killed my brother, and I became a drug lord in his place.
“For every crime, they would point a finger at me. I left the community then but soon was looking for capital again and started killing people for money. Those images still haunt me at night. Evil spirits took over my life, and I got involved with witchcraft for special muti that would increase my customers. But the muti did not help, and my customers left me. The witch doctor then advised me to draw human blood, which I did. In 2023, I ran away from Johannesburg to Daveyton in Mpumalanga, but I could not find the peace I sought.
“I was then reminded about KwaSizabantu, and I started attending church services in Daveyton, but that also brought me no peace. My younger brother had a passion for fraud, and he was also selling drugs. I joined him, but my love for crime was gone. I went back to Johannesburg and joined my friends again, but now I was doing fraud while selling drugs.
“In August 2023, my life improved when my parents sent me to KwaSizabantu for help. It was also my choice to come here. They accepted me for who I am and helped me get rid of the demons in me and the addictions. I now want to live God’s way.” He said in good English that he wanted to inspire others to change their lives and contribute to society.
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About Restores Lives
The Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA) is housed on the premises of the KwaSizabantu Mission and runs a three-week programme for people fighting addictions. Marcel and Romeo (stories below) both attended the programmes and are no longer broken people. The young men are now free from drugs and alcohol, and they willingly participate in the programmes. They still interact regularly with the pastoral caretakers, and they choose to work at the Mission as they feel driven to help others like they have been helped.
