Sarah Cohen reviews Flashes in Her Soul: The Life of Jabu Ndlovu by Jean Fairbairn
When I read South African Street names I often wonder who they were named after, and why their stories have seemingly been so hidden from us.
In the case of Jabu Ndlovu Street running down the centre of Pietermaritzburg, what did Jabu Ndlovu do and who was she?
Flashes in Her Soul: The Life of Jabu Ndlovu by Jean Fairbairn is the second book in the Hidden Voices series and is the story of Jabu Ndlovu, a shop steward of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa and a community leader in Imbali near Pietermaritzburg.
Recounting the life of an ordinary woman growing up during the not-so-ordinary apartheid era, Jabu’s story will remind you of the people who did extraordinary deeds and paid the price for their tenacity and bravery.
Jabu, her husband and her oldest daughter were killed in their home in May 1989, a consequence of Jabu rising to a leadership position within the union movement as she became aware of the way in which black workers were being exploited and oppressed.
The 1991 book has been republished with a new introduction by Debby Bonnin, associate professor and head of the sociology department at the University of Pretoria.
Bonnin’s introduction addresses several key dynamics that affected people’s lives in KwaZulu-Natal during the apartheid era and her writing style is one that balances historical facts with narrative soundly, keeping the reader engaged and interested.
Suitable for South Africans as well as international readers, maps are provided at the beginning of the book for context and historical happenings.
You will learn how Jabu was employed in 1974 at the kitchenware factory Prestige.
According to a friend, she would have started at about R6.30 a week, which even in 2017 would only have equated to R285 per week.
The Hidden Voices Project emerged out of an interest in intellectual contributions towards discussions on race, class, ethnicity and nationalism in South Africa. The project seeks to examine and make available writings by “hidden voices” – voices outside of the university system, or academic voices suppressed by apartheid pressures.
On Page 50 there is a poignant photograph of Jabu in her teens which reminds us of the person behind this story and how important her voice is in a historical context, but also going forward in South Africa.
If you have ever gone through a struggle – be it emotionally or physically, you need to read this book. You will feel inspired.

Flashes in Her Soul: The Life of Jabu Ndlovu by Jean Fairbairn is published by Fanele, an imprint of Jacana Media...