Renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema has died in a car crash at the age of 68, his family said.

“Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral he was attending in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape this evening,” his relatives said on Wednesday.

The celebrated playwright was a passenger in the vehicle involved in the crash.

He was best known for creating the hit Sarafina! which first premiered on Broadway in 1988.

It was adapted into a musical drama starring Whoopi Goldberg in 1992 which became an international success and was nominated for the Tony and Grammy Awards.

Sarafina! told the story of a young student who inspired her peers to fight against racial segregation in apartheid South Africa after her teacher was thrown in jail.

Ngema’s body of work includes the acclaimed theatre production Woza Albert, which premiered in 1981 and went on to win more than 20 awards across the world.