Inspirational: Inga Mkoko shares his tale. Picture supplied
South Africa’s late global icon Nelson Mandela once said: “Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire.”
So mdlali (player), if you think football is about winning championships and medals, then you’re playing this game for all the wrong reasons.
It’s truly incredible what you can be exposed to and the people you can meet in this beautiful game of ours that we call idiski.
On 9 July 2022, 18 people were shot in a mass shooting at a tavern in Soweto - 16 people were killed in the incident.
One of the survivors is Inga Mkoko, who despite being stuck in a wheelchair because of the incident, decided not to feel sorry for himself and instead volunteers as a photographer for one of the longest-existing ABC Motsepe League franchises in the Western Cape, Zizwe United from Nyanga East.
“I was a landscaper specialising in lawn installations and moved to Johannesburg for better opportunities like everyone else from the Eastern Cape,” Mkoko explained to Diski Business, after capturing images of Zizwe’s 4-2 victory over Antalyaspor JPM at Nyanga stadium.
“It was while I was at hospital that I told my mother and brother that I wanted to try photography since I knew that I would not be able to do any physical work because I had lost my both of my lower limbs and as you can see my arms and hands are also hurt.
“As a former footballer here locally, it was an easy choice to join Zizwe and assist them with photography and capture their memories, because I myself don’t have many photos of me playing football.”
You can contact or visit Inga at Zolani Arts and Cultural Centre in Nyanga to find out more about his journey back from that tragic incident.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za
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