'She was always a ball of energy,' Mandisa Nduna' heartfelt tribute to Shoki Mokgapa

Shoki Mokgapa's friend and colleague Mandisa Nduna has joined the outpouring of tributes that have flooded social media since her death was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. 

Mandisa told TshisaLIVE  that Shoki's death is a great loss for the arts industry. 

She explained that just days ago they had celebrated the news that their film Sew The Winter To My Skin was accepted as one of the official submissions at the 91st Oscars under the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Mandisa said one of the saddest things would be celebrating without her when her contribution was so brilliant.

"I think it'll be her quirkiness that I miss the most and of course the tremendous talent she had. It's a huge loss to the industry and with Sew The Winter To My Skin doing so well, it's difficult to think that she won't be a part of the celebrations."

Shoki died on Tuesday night but exact details surrounding her death have not yet been made public. Nashoda Billy at MLA Talent Agency Shoki's management company confirmed the news to TshisaLIVE. 

Mandisa remembered the first time she met Shoki at the Saftas last year and how emotional she was about scooping an award.  

"The first time I heard of her was when Thishiwe (Ziqubu) was working with the Saftas and was raving about her performance in Sink. A role for which she then won Best Actress. I was there at those Saftas and she was very emotional. It was beautiful to see. I met her at the Saftas in 2017."

Mandisa said she loved working with Shoki, who was just 34-years-old when she died. She said Shoki was always a ball of energy.

She said she was even sad because Shoki still had so much to give.

"Working with her was great. She was always a ball of energy and kept people entertained. And she was just brilliant on screen."