Zenzile

Full Name: Zenzile

Some who have heard Zenzile’s guest appearance from 4/1/86 (where he read original poetry) dismissed him as a friend of the band playing a crank or some other staged event. This couldn’t be further from the truth; Zenzile is a fighter for South African rights who was exiled from his home for sixteen years. His political stances at Goddard led him to leave the school in 1988 after he led the occupation of an administrative building, demanding a Third World Studies program. He has long been active in politics – for example, he publicly protested against Linda Ronstadt when she continued to play Sun City. Now out of exile, he is known by his full name of Zenzile Khoisan and he is one of the key researchers for South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Zenzile even served as the assistant to the Coordinator for Human Rights Violations Investigations. Though his 4/1/86 appearance is the only documented occasion of collaboration with Phish, it is believed that this was one of several.