Inspired by a true story that took place in the space of a week. MAGENTS 101 is a novel about a young man by the name of Andy. A son of a prominent and well-respected politician, born in a world of wealth and abundance. Andy had never endured the everyday hardships that most South Africans had to endure. According to him, South Africa was a rainbow nation, a land of opportunities where all races lived in harmony. One day as he was going through his mother's belongings, he stumbled upon a photo album. Inside he saw a photo of himself and his cousin Octavius whom he hadn't seen in over two decades. Octavius stayed in Alexandra. The oldest township in South Africa and once the home of Mr. Nelson Mandela upon his arrival in Johannesburg. Besides being the poorest township in the country, Alexandra is just a stone's throw away from the economic hub of South Africa and the richest square mile in Africa, Sandton City. Andy and Octavius were living in two different worlds. Andy lived in the richest and most secluded suburbs in Pretoria and Octavius lived in the most notorious place inland. That picture in the photo album brought sweet memories of their childhood. It sparked a flame inside him that could not be put out. Andy was always wary of the townships as they were associated with crime and gangsterism, but he thought long and hard. He then decided that he was going to put his fears aside and go and visit his cousin in Alexandra. That day he decided to visit his cousin in Alexandra, Octavius and his three friends were planning to go and rob a notorious drug lord by the name of Corrupt. That would be a decision they would live to regret. Octavius and Corrupt were once friends but their friendship ended in betrayal. Later that night a robbery occurred at Corrupt's mansion in Sandton and a large sum of money was stolen. But the robbery did not go as smoothly as they had expected as their act was captured on CCTV. Corrupt was fuming when he finally saw the people who were responsible for the robbery. He and his crew were now also planning to go to Alexandra to confront Octavius about their stolen money. Now all roads were leading to Alexandra. The next day, as Andy was embarking on his journey to Alexandra, Corrupt and his men were also heading there to confront Octavius. Octavius's world was turned upside down when Corrupt and his gang came demanding their money, which he denied. As they left in their cars, Andy arrived. Octavius was happy to see his cousin after such a long a time, but he knew that he came to visit at the wrong time. Octavius's friends were reluctant to give back Corrupt's money peacefully and that would be the start of a bloodbath. Upon his arrival, Andy became friends with Octavius's friends. Besides being criminals he came to understand their backgrounds. He empathized with their poverty-stricken environment and he finally understood what led them to live a life of crime. Unfortunately in that space of a week, many men were killed. Mothers lost their sons and brothership was lost for all eternity. The only person who survived the whole ordeal was Octavius, who spent a month in hospital after being shot numerous times. Andy went to Pretoria sad and heartbroken. The rainbow nation he thought he was living in was just an illusion. His visit to Alexandra opened his eyes to the suffering of his people. He finally saw the hardships the youth of this country had to live in while the elite were looting state resources. In Alexandra, he saw young people who were denied opportunities by greedy politicians. He watched as bullets were flying everywhere and he saw men dying in the streets of Alexandra. He went back to Pretoria as a changed man. He was going to be the voice of the voiceless and expose the role that greedy politicians were playing in the destruction of the black youth in South Africa.