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The Nigerian Mafia: Johannesburg
‘Every hitman knows not to seek a moral angle while taking out a target. But then I was to kill a clergyman. A Pentecostal pastor, actually. They called him Pastor Tim Cletus.’
In the heart of Johannesburg, where crime and intrigue intertwine, Nollywood actor Uche Mbadiegwu finds himself entangled in a dangerous game of survival. After narrowly escaping trouble in Brazil, Uche’s path crosses with Professor Bern Steyn, a renowned criminologist delving into the world of Czech criminal Radovan Krejčíř. Meanwhile, the enigmatic businesswoman Huan Lin Zhang and the elusive Chuma Mpiga from the Department of Home Affairs meet clandestinely at Mongkok Chinese Restaurant, setting the stage for a web of deceit and power plays.
Amidst this chaos, Tim Cletus, the self-proclaimed Nigerian pastor and racketeer, emerges as a formidable force, trafficking women and spreading his influence. Uche, caught in the midst of conflicting interests, finds himself hired by the Chinese to eliminate Cletus and by Indian loan sharks to enforce brutal debt collection. As Uche navigates the treacherous landscape of Johannesburg, he must outwit ruthless adversaries to survive. Will he emerge unscathed, or will the shadows of the underworld consume him?
In the heart of Johannesburg, where crime and intrigue intertwine, Nollywood actor Uche Mbadiegwu finds himself entangled in a dangerous game of survival. After narrowly escaping trouble in Brazil, Uche’s path crosses with Professor Bern Steyn, a renowned criminologist delving into the world of Czech criminal Radovan Krejčíř. Meanwhile, the enigmatic businesswoman Huan Lin Zhang and the elusive Chuma Mpiga from the Department of Home Affairs meet clandestinely at Mongkok Chinese Restaurant, setting the stage for a web of deceit and power plays.
Amidst this chaos, Tim Cletus, the self-proclaimed Nigerian pastor and racketeer, emerges as a formidable force, trafficking women and spreading his influence. Uche, caught in the midst of conflicting interests, finds himself hired by the Chinese to eliminate Cletus and by Indian loan sharks to enforce brutal debt collection. As Uche navigates the treacherous landscape of Johannesburg, he must outwit ruthless adversaries to survive. Will he emerge unscathed, or will the shadows of the underworld consume him?
135 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 29, 2024
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 17, 2024
2 stars
In this very brief episode in the life of Uche - a Nigerian hitman - we are guided through his misadventures in the City of Gold (Johannesburg). After escaping Sao Paulo, Uche finds himself in Jozi where his day-job as a hired killer leads him to run-ins with loan sharks, organised Chinese crime syndicates in Bruma, and the general chaos of life in Yeoville. After a drug-deal gone wrong, Uche flees once again to Cape Town to find peace. While he is temporarily able to achieve this once he meets Kanya - a beautiful, wise young woman who he quickly falls for, the utopia is only fleeting as his life slowly begins to fall into disarray once again.
While the subject matter tackled in this novella is captivating and eye-opening, the story is lacking in focus, and proper character exploration. Uche is a man on the run, unable to settle because of his choice (arguable perhaps) to pursue a life of crime. We see, in him, the quest to settle down and lead a normal life but the underworld of the Nigerian Mafia seems to keep pulling him back whenever he attempts to. Aside from this, the reader is not offered anything deeper as far as understanding Uche's motives. This, to a strong degree, sterilises the story. This insufficient character development also makes the story appear rather rushed and incomplete.
Reading this as a written account of crime syndicates in South Africa will probably increase one's satisfaction with the book. As a novella, due to the superficial way in which the author handles the presentation of characters - including the MP - it falls drastically short of being the truly captivating short read it could be had the author spent more time on it.
In this very brief episode in the life of Uche - a Nigerian hitman - we are guided through his misadventures in the City of Gold (Johannesburg). After escaping Sao Paulo, Uche finds himself in Jozi where his day-job as a hired killer leads him to run-ins with loan sharks, organised Chinese crime syndicates in Bruma, and the general chaos of life in Yeoville. After a drug-deal gone wrong, Uche flees once again to Cape Town to find peace. While he is temporarily able to achieve this once he meets Kanya - a beautiful, wise young woman who he quickly falls for, the utopia is only fleeting as his life slowly begins to fall into disarray once again.
While the subject matter tackled in this novella is captivating and eye-opening, the story is lacking in focus, and proper character exploration. Uche is a man on the run, unable to settle because of his choice (arguable perhaps) to pursue a life of crime. We see, in him, the quest to settle down and lead a normal life but the underworld of the Nigerian Mafia seems to keep pulling him back whenever he attempts to. Aside from this, the reader is not offered anything deeper as far as understanding Uche's motives. This, to a strong degree, sterilises the story. This insufficient character development also makes the story appear rather rushed and incomplete.
Reading this as a written account of crime syndicates in South Africa will probably increase one's satisfaction with the book. As a novella, due to the superficial way in which the author handles the presentation of characters - including the MP - it falls drastically short of being the truly captivating short read it could be had the author spent more time on it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review