Fiction and non-fiction both have their places in the life of the avid reader. But there is something special about a piece of non-fiction that either covers a very interesting period of history or a person with a fascinating life. It’s also provides a lot of pleasure actually writing such an account and making into something that the reader is going to really enjoy.
I cut my teeth (no pain though) on two so-called ghost-written autobiographies. No ghosts present at the time. One book was about the life and work of a longstanding prime minister of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and the other captured the life and contribution to society of a world-renowned environmental scientist.
Then a very pleasant surprise recently arose when I was talking to a lady here in Eswatini who, knowing that I enjoyed writing books in my retirement, said to me, “My plumber was one of Colonel Gaddafi’s bodyguards.” This lady is a well-known and established physiotherapist in the capital, Mbabane and she was clearly aware of how to also ease the mental feelings of the patient. I wasn’t a patient of course, but I did listen patiently to what she said. I was very keen to add another book to those I already had on Amazon. So my ears certainly pricked up at what she might have to offer. My eyebrows did too. Little did I realise at that that point just how interesting the story was going to be.
So we rang the plumber’s mobile plumber and agreed to meet the following day at Sugar Snap, a well-known restaurant and coffee shop in Mbabane. Sure enough, bang on time, in came the plumber gazing instinctively at the state of the pipes as he joined me at a table. This was Dumsani Soko, and with him was his cousin, Zoro Masilela who, it transpired, was the one who had been the Gaddafi bodyguard. It had been near the end of an eight-year spell in Libya from 2003-2011 that Zoro had been instructed to recruit another young man for bodyguard training in Libya. Thus, in 2010, Dumsani had arrived in Libya for preparatory training to join the bodyguard team.
A few months later, Libya imploded and these two guys endured over 20 days where they were arrested and escaped three times. But throughout that period they were terrifyingly aware that a summary execution could happen at any moment. Simply because it was happening all around them as the revolutionaries paid back what others had done to them.
I realised that there was a fascinating story to capture and deliver to the world. So, I immediately agreed to write the account. What was produced was essentially a biographical account of Zoro’s journey, with Zoro having the opportunity to add the first-person passion and authenticity in his own words. Luckily his English is good.
While it is basically Zoro’s account of what happened to him and those around him in the period 2003 to 2011, there is also a great deal about Colonel Gaddafi and his behaviour, which varied between an almost ludicrous generosity towards Libyans during the good times and a somewhat barbaric ruthlessness during the bad times.
I have put together the story on the very specific understanding that every statement made by Zoro – and by me based on his word – is factually correct. It was a hand-on-Bible commitment by Zoro which he has confirmed by sworn affidavit. There are some shocking stories, but every effort has been made to respect the families of those who did not behave too well. What is fundamentally important is that Zoro has the right to tell his personal story of those years. Dumsani adds his own valuable contribution to the account of the violent and terrifying closing days of Gaddafi’s Libya. These two young men somehow survived three weeks of sheer terror and eventually escaped to return home to peaceful Swaziland and the opportunity to put their lives back on track.
Both men were in need of professional therapy in the months after their return. It is amazing that they appear to have made a full recovery and able to rejoin comfortably the civilised society in which they had been born and raised. The story will undoubtedly bring pride to the Swazi nation and especially the manner in which Zoro survived two years of quite extraordinary military training, throughout that period never knowing what would come next.
This book, with title Guarding Gaddafiwill appear on Amazon and a number of other media platforms from the end of May 2026 in the subsequent three weeks the electronic version will be free of charge. It is hoped that those benefitting from that offer will write a review accordingly, as well as informing their contacts about the book.
Thank you.