LORD OF THE SHACKS

150pp., paperback, WAA Stellenbosch Uitgewer, No Place, 2026

ISBN: 9781066600083

Crime thriller set in an informal settlement in South Africa.

When he agrees to help in a desperate search for stolen gold, Mandla Shabalala is drawn into the dangerous world of ruthless businessmen, corrupt power brokers, township kings and deadly secrets, where every answer uncovers another betrayal and every ally has something to hide.

Onyeka Nwelue (b. 1988) is a Nigerian writer and filmmaker. His recent works of fiction include Murder in Orania, The Nigerian Mafia: Johannesburg, Home Affairs and Pay the Xenophobie 5 Million Rand. His book, Hip-Hop is Only for Children, won the 2015 Creative Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the 2015 Nigerian Writers’ Awards. He adapted his novella, Island of Happiness, into an Igbo language film, Agwaetiti Obiụtọ, and won Best Feature Film by a Director at the 2018 Newark International Film Festival. His crime thriller, The Strangers of Braamfontein, won the 2021 Crime Fiction Lovers Award and ANA Prize for Prose Fiction. Currently he lives in Mexico.