23/07/2025
“The first week in the koma lodge dragged on, each day blending into the next in a haze of thirst and longing for home. Somehow I managed to survive fourteen days without a drop of water. I was desperate for relief, yet I never complained – clinging to a fragile sense of pride that felt like my only armour. Home seemed like a distant dream. I was dirty and thin. Dust coated my hair. My belly was swollen and uncomfortable, a stark contrast to my thin frame. I could feel my body deteriorating as I lost weight. Angry scabs covered my wound, the skin beneath inflamed and unhealed. Even the bitter black herb we were given, dubbed ‘Coca- Cola’, failed to provide relief.”
In what will surely become a classic of South African non-fiction, Led by Shepherds begins with twelve-year-old Jeffrey Rakabe leaving his village to attend an initiation ceremony, believing it to be the key to his manhood. But the weeks-long rite of passage in the mountains is a far cry from the adventure he’d imagined. Years later, as a student, Rakabe discovers the nurturing world of books and thrives within the hush of the Johannesburg Public Library. The presence of caring women in his life, from his concerned mother and supportive partner to a librarian who feeds his intellectual curiosity with a steady supply of literature, spur Rakabe to investigate the possible links between the koma ritual, awash with misogynistic language, and gender-based violence in SA.
Part memoir, part manifesto, Led by Shepherds is a moving, vital and controversial book and Jeffrey Rakabe a brave voice for a new generation.
Jacana Media
