“Your story is important.” Those were the words seven-year-old Tlotlo Tsheka shared with other young storytellers, and following her sudden passing, they have become part of the beautiful message she leaves behind.
South Africa (22 August 2026) – South Africa has lost a little girl with an extraordinarily big imagination.
Earlier this year, we had the privilege of introducing Good Things Guy readers to Tlotlo Tsheka, a young Johannesburg author and illustrator who had already achieved more at six years old than most of us could have imagined at that age. She loved books, loved drawing, loved telling stories and, perhaps most beautifully, wanted other children to discover that their stories mattered too.
This week, we learnt the devastating news that Tlotlo passed away on the 18th of August following a sudden illness. She was just seven years old.
There are no clever words that make news like this easier to write. We remember the little girl we featured in March, giggling as she told us about the secrets in her books, proudly explaining where her ideas came from and speaking about a future filled with more stories. Today, our hearts are with her mother, Thatohatsi Tsheka, her sister, her family, her friends, her teachers at SPARK Witpoortjie and every person who had the privilege of knowing her.
And while her life was heartbreakingly short, Tlotlo filled it with so much.
She began writing when she was only five, creating a handwritten and self-illustrated manuscript that would eventually become part of a remarkable little publishing career. By six, she had released “I Remember When…” and “Mommy’s Secret”, stories inspired by the people and experiences in her own life.
“I like telling stories about things I see and things I remember. I have lots and lots of them in my brain. One day I told my mommy I wanted my own book, and she helped make it,” she told Good Things Guy earlier this year.
Tlotlo would go on to publish a third book, “Brown Skinned Girls with Peach Mothers”, exploring identity, family and the physical differences between herself and her mother. Before her passing, she had also completed a fourth manuscript, “The Magic Eye”.
But Tlotlo was becoming so much more than a young author. She was a literacy ambassador who understood the power of ideas and wanted children across South Africa to understand it too.
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Her mother, Thatohatsi, a publishing director, encouraged Tlotlo’s creativity while making sure the stories always remained her daughter’s own. Their home was one where reading, writing and imagination formed part of everyday life, rather than something reserved for schoolwork.
“When she was serious about her stories, my role became one of support rather than direction,” Thatohatsi explained.
“We read together, talk about stories and treat writing as a form of expression rather than a task. This helps make learning feel enjoyable and meaningful. More than success, I want Tlotlo to grow with confidence, curiosity and courage.”
Tragically, Tlotlo’s illness unfolded with frightening speed. According to her mother, she had shown no previous signs of liver trouble and initially presented with symptoms resembling a routine infection. Within days, her condition deteriorated dramatically, with severe dehydration, low blood sugar and seizures leading to hospitalisation and eventually intensive care.
Doctors discovered that her liver was no longer regulating her blood sugar, and Tlotlo subsequently developed acute liver and kidney failure, severe jaundice and dangerously unstable blood pressure.
“Everything happened within a week. She got worse every day. She was not responding to treatment and kept on deteriorating by the hour,” Thatohatsi shared with IOL.
Specialist testing was being urgently fast-tracked in an attempt to determine what had caused the sudden organ failure, but Tlotlo passed away before the family received the answers they were desperately seeking.
Through unimaginable grief, Thatohatsi has also made a point of acknowledging the medical professionals who fought for her daughter.
“She was truly under the best care. I saw it myself; the team was working really hard, since this was a very weird case. They honestly did all they could leading up to her last hour.”
Tlotlo had also become an ambassador for the Nal’ibali Trust, using her own love of storytelling to encourage other children to read, imagine and create.
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Following her passing, the organisation shared its condolences.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her. Tlotlo’s stories are part of the legacy she leaves behind. May her memory continue to inspire young storytellers.”
When we first met Tlotlo through her story in March, she told us exactly what she hoped her books would do.
“I hope other kids feel happy when they read my books and also want to write their own stories one day.”
That sentence feels very different today.
The entire Good Things Guy team and all our readers are thinking of Tlotlo’s family and friends. Sending them love and kindness in this heartbreak.
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