Too good to be true! Viral ‘Rasta painting’ of King Goodwill Zwelithini, Noxolo and Menzi is fake

After the heartbreaking announcements of the deaths of iconic actors Menzi Ngubane and Noxolo Maqashalala and King Goodwill Zwelithini, a painting of the trio initially believed to be done by Rasta went viral, but he has confirmed the painting is fake. 

Speaking to TshisaLIVE on Tuesday, Rasta, whose real name is Lebani Sirenje, said the realistic portraits of Menzi, Noxolo and King Goodwill Zwelithini on one canvas was not the work of his hands.

“The painting is fake. I painted the king but I haven’t personally shared my painting. I will only paint Noxolo and Menzi at their memorial services,” Rasta said.

Rasta said he has painted the king but was hesitant to share the painting on social media after he heard people on radio say he should sit this one out.

“I heard on radio that people say they don’t want me to paint their king. That has been a bit frustrating for me. I have painted the first part of Noxolo and Menzi’s portraits but I haven’t shared them. They are safe at home because I don’t want them to be leaked  as people sometimes leak my work. I will share them soon.”

The viral photo, which appears to be Photoshopped, shows Rasta with his back against the camera, as per norm, with a paintbrush in his hand. On the canvas in front of him are the three portraits of the celebs and the face of an unknown man.

The photo had Criselda Kananda and Thuli Madonsela impressed as they marvelled at what they thought was a major improvement from Rasta.

However, tweeps quickly saw through the viral post and let Thuli and Criselda know the painting was not Rasta’s work.

It was simply too good to be true for tweeps and was out of character with the Rasta they know.

Here are some tweets saying as much: