Mohau Malope believes that some of the things he did in high school saved him from staying
in hell during his NDE.
We are sitting in the East Rand Mall in Johannesburg in a busy restaurant, talking about
heaven and hell while other families are busy with a Sunday-morning breakfast. For a while
we have been chatting over the phone, and finally I get to meet Rev Hulk, as he was known
back when he was a rising star – a photographer as much at home among celebrities as in a
corporate setting. Not many people from his old world of glamour and events actually know
that one night ended up turning his life on its head.
Mohau grew up in Bela Bela and went to boarding school for most of his high school
years. His mother was religious and would often quote scripture to him.
‘Her favourite was to paraphrase the words in John 10 that the devil is a thief who
comes to “steal, kill and destroy” everything good in your life.’
‘Steal, kill and destroy’ was a statement that was often repeated to him in his childhood
as a warning not to get involved in a sinful life. But Mohau didn’t really need to take that too
seriously because he never drank, never partied and didn’t smoke. In fact, when he was 14
and in Grade 8, he ‘accepted Jesus into his life’ and the teenager was so taken with the faith
and his own strong beliefs that he started a church cell group at school.
‘I just became known as the guy who loved rugby and Jesus.’
After school, Mohau enrolled to study Film and Television in the downtown bustling
area of Braamfontein in Johannesburg and that’s where everything started to change. It was a
hub of creatives, students and a mix of people from all walks of life. He was out of his
protected school environment and in the big city. He started to drink alcohol and party.
‘I met the wrong people and we only met because we spoke the same language. I speak
three languages fluently – Xitsonga, Afrikaans and Pedi – and so everyone in the Xitsonga
circle became my friend. Some of the had a lot of money and we all partied hard.’
His college residence would host events with hip-hop celebrities that turned into week-
long parties. The easy-going and friendly Mohau was right in the centre of the scene, but he
was also often on the back foot as he battled to make ends meet and keep up with his
wealthier friends with his small allowance of R600 a month. In his final year, he eventually
got a job as the official photographer for the residence he lived in. It was a game-changer in
his life. If there was a celebrity performing, he was the one taking the photographs, and that
also meant he got close to the performers and into an even faster lifestyle. The work meant he
finally had his own money and his life really started to get better. There were girls and
endless parties and fun.
One night was to change all that. It was late at night at a party at yet another friend’s
house, and he wasn’t feeling particularly good.
‘Usually when I get to a party I’m the main guy in the room. But this time everything
was weird, and nobody wanted to hang out with me. Nobody wanted to talk to me and so I hit
the alcohol. When the alcohol ran out I started smoking weed. I had never smoked weed
before, but it was like I was crazy that night. Everyone else was taking a puff, but I was
taking five hits at a time.’
He remembers leaving the party and walking back to his apartment feeling very dizzy.
When he got home he fell asleep immediately, the room reeling. Later he woke up and went
to the toilet and vomited everything out before falling asleep again.
‘I woke up for the second time, but this time my mind was totally fresh and clear. I
wanted to get out of bed but realised that I was lifting up towards the ceiling. When I turned
around I could see myself lying on the bed. At first I was confused as to who this other
person was lying on my bed, then I saw it was me. All of a sudden everything went totally
black.’
Mohau was in a different place. It was crammed with people, but all of them were
caught in a repetitive looping pattern. One man was driving in a red convertible full of girls,
but he was just driving in circles, again and again. Another man was murdering someone
again and again.
‘I looked up and as far as the horizon all these people were suffering for their own
reasons. Each one was in their own personal loop, and nobody was interacting with anyone
else, they were simply caught in their own suffering. I also knew that nobody there cared
about me at all.’
Mohau realised that was one of them. He too was caught in an endless loop and his own
suffering was playing out by being fed endless alcohol and drugs at the same.
This is an extract from The Other Side: Journeys into Mysticism, Magic and Near Death.
Sarah Bullen is a multi-published author and literary agent. Her books include The Other
Side: Journeys into Mysticism, Magic and Near Death
Love and Above: A journey into shamanism, coma and joy.
Write your Book in 100 Days
and link to each book on Wix pages and the Amazon and Takealot links :
Amazon
https://a.co/d/bEiuGNY
Takealot
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