Meet Thabo Mngomezulu, a former musician converting waste to energy

News24

6 days ago

A former session musician turned clean energy entrepreneur, Thabo Mngomezulu, is transforming his rural community through innovative waste-to-energy solutions. His groundbreaking work has earned him recognition as a News24 Young Mandela for 2025 in the Climate, Literacy and Sustainability category.
As CEO and founder of Kasi Gas, Mngomezulu converts organic waste into affordable biogas for cooking and heating while producing nutrient-rich organic fertiliser for local farmers.
What began as a personal pivot during the Covid-19 lockdown has evolved into a comprehensive solution that addresses environmental challenges and energy poverty.
'I lost my income because I've been a session musician for a decade,' Mngomezulu told News24. 'So I wanted to lean towards something more sustainable, that would not only serve me, but also serve the communities I come from.'
This crisis became a catalyst for transformation. Rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere, Mngomezulu deliberately returned to his roots in Mpumalanga.
'I left my community here in Fernie to go and stay in Johannesburg, but I'm back because I know that I have to be the person who drives the change,' he says.
'So I want to be a pioneer for change.'
Mngomezulu's innovative approach addresses multiple interconnected challenges facing his community.
In an area without formal waste management services, Kasi Gas diverts organic waste from illegal dumping sites and processes it into biogas.
The system's byproduct—quality organic fertiliser—serves small-scale crop farmers and households engaged in subsistence farming.
'Because they've been monocropping (growing a single crop on the same land year after year) for a very long time and using chemical fertilisers, their soil is degraded, but my bio-fertiliser helps to revitalise that soil, while the biogas provides a clean and affordable source of energy for cooking and heating,' Mngomezulu says.
The impact extends beyond energy and agriculture.
Kasi Gas has become an educational platform that raises awareness about waste as a valuable resource rather than a burden.
'People did not know that waste is a resource you can use to generate income,' he notes.
The initiative teaches community members to save plastic and paper waste for sale, creating additional income streams.
Mngomezulu's work also introduces sustainable farming practices to a community dependent on chemical inputs.
'We are introducing organic farming to them, which is more sustainable,' he says, describing how the project exposes farmers to different planting methods that work harmoniously with the environment.
His comprehensive approach embodies Nelson Mandela's spirit: bringing people together for collective progress while addressing systemic inequalities.
'My hopes for the future are to stimulate economic activity in low-income areas because I have firsthand [experience] growing up in one, and I know the disadvantages that we face, and it's almost as if people do not care about rural communities,' he says.
The Mandela connection runs deeper than circumstance.
'When I think of Mandela, I think of freedom and all the odds against him, but he still prevailed. And so for me, that means resilience,' Mngomezulu says.
Speaking about his Young Mandela recognition, Mngomezulu sees it as validation of his community-centred approach. His work proves that meaningful change often begins with people willing to return home, roll up their sleeves, and pioneer solutions that serve both people and planet.
Through Kasi Gas, Mngomezulu demonstrates that environmental sustainability and economic empowerment are not competing priorities but complementary solutions.