21-05-2025
Meet the ‘book guy of Zondi' — Soweto bibliophile creates hub for reading, games and learning
Thami Mazibuko's café in what used to be a dangerous area attracts schoolkids and tourists, who gather to browse, play and connect.
Thami Mazibuko, owner of the Soweto Book Café, says there are now more than 10,000 books in his shop. He's been sitting quietly on his own, listening to classical music while reading The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born, a novel by Ayi Kwei Armah, about corruption and moral decay in postcolonial Ghana.
He loves these peaceful mornings, Mazibuko says, before people start popping into what has become a popular bookstore, library, learning hub and venue.
The Soweto Book Café is at the end of a cul-de-sac in Zondi, on the second floor of a quirky double-storey house with long passages and round windows. A soft light floods the room, which is filled with books.
A self-proclaimed bibliophile, Mazibuko says he became 'cultured' when he lived in Yeoville for several years, hanging out with intellectuals, musicians and artists who exposed him to new ideas, political theories and social issues.
When he moved back to Soweto in 2018, he realised there was a huge need for access to books. He had the idea of a bookshop and started out with small donations of books from friends, colleagues and helpers. Then one day he was contacted by the family of a man called John Crawford, a scientist from the University of the Witwatersrand, who had died and wanted to donate his entire book collection to the Soweto Book Café.
'I never met him,' says Mazibuko, 'but I was thrilled to take the books, so I went with a friend to collect them. It was a house in the suburb of Parkhurst, and it was crammed full of all sorts of books. There wasn't even a television, just rooms and rooms of books.'
This massive donation allowed Mazibuko to start a bookstore, but as locals started visiting, it quickly turned into a library where people could borrow rather than buy.
'Now it has become a place where people can gather. It's an internet café, a research centre, a learning hub, a safe space.'
In the afternoons, the Soweto Book Café is filled with schoolchildren who come to read and do their homework, or play chess and the Chinese board game Go (Wéiqí in Chinese), which is believed to have originated in China about 2,500 years ago. Mazibuko is an expert in both games.
'I really enjoy watching children learn to read and enjoy reading,' he says. 'I also help them to learn to use the internet and AI tools. Random guests also pop in – tourists, security guards, people from this street, people who've seen us on social media.
'They visit for different reasons. Some just out of curiosity, some to read or just browse. When there is no one here, I sit quietly and read and listen to classical music.'
Zondi used to be a dangerous area that struck fear into the hearts of locals and visitors alike, Mazibuko says. The Soweto Book Café has made a huge difference to the suburb. In 2024, the café had its first festival and also hosted the Soweto International Book Fair. It has hosted book clubs, workshops and other events too.
'I wasn't a big reader when I grew up, but it grew on me as a result of my aunt's influence and the access I had to books at school,' says Mazibuko, who is now an avid reader and known as 'the book guy of Zondi'.
Books are his portable magic – they are the plane, train and the road. They are the destination as well as the journey.
'I'm delighted the Johannesburg City Library has [partially] reopened,' says Mazibuko. 'I was a regular visitor and used to borrow books frequently. I would walk to town, take out books and then walk back to Yeoville. I was that guy that even went to clubs with a book in my hand.
'I have become a symbol of someone who reads and loves books. I'm always reading, and I cover a wide range of subjects, from African history to Shakespeare, from economics to DIY.'
Mazibuko says the bookstore has had donations from a variety of people, including tourists from Scotland, Germany and the UK. He would love the Soweto Book Café to be a sustainable space, but he still needs a couple of side-hustles to keep him going. 'Our main problem is funding. I'd love to be able to pay volunteers to help me out.' DM
Bridget Hilton-Barber is a freelance writer who writes for Jozi My Jozi.
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
