A biography of the 1976 Soweto uprising's most iconic leader, the charismatic Tsietsi Mashinini (1957-1990). Mashinini was a gifted and popular schoolboy at Morris Isaacson High School who recited poetry, was head of the debate team and president of the Methodist Wesley Guild. Identified as a ‘ringleader’ in the uprising, Mashinini went into hiding. Eventually forced into exile, first to London and later to various other African countries, including Liberia, he became an international celebrity, addressing the United Nations and meeting heads of state. Mashinini died under mysterious circumstances while in exile in Guinea. His body was repatriated to South Africa, where he was interred in Avalon Cemetery.