Tinah Mnumzana says hearing Patrick Shai being referred to in past tense hit her hard

Attending the memorial service for the late actor Patrick Shai, The River actress Tinah Mnumzana found that the constant reference to the actor in the past tense solidified the fact that Patrick was no more.

Close friends and family members gathered at the Market Theatre in Newtown on Thursday to honour the late actor.

Tinah took to her Instagram about how it dawned on her that her friend was really gone.

“At your memorial service Market Theatre, people spoke about you in past tense ,. 'Patrick was.' It dawned on me. You really are gone Patrick. I thank the almighty God that in your lifetime our paths crossed. You 'were' (past tense ... yho!) not just a thespian of note. You were a colleague, a friend, a brother and a teacher.”

The veteran actress expressed her gratitude for having had the opportunity to learn from Patrick.

“I am grateful that I was part of your last moments on set (The River). There was never a dull moment with you. Thank you for the jokes dinosaur/museum. Thank you for the lessons. Grateful. Rest in eternal peace.”

Tinah also wished Mmasechaba Shai strength as she buries her husband on Saturday.

“Aus' Masechaba may the good God Jehovah wrap you, your children, grandchildren with his loving arms. May he carry you and give you the comfort which only he can give. May his glory and love be forever with you. ”

Breaking her silence for the first time since discovering the body of her husband Mmasechaba opened up about her loss and cautioned her children not to allow social media to shame them.

Taking to the podium at his memorial, Masechaba reflected on her life with Patrick since marrying him when she was 16, being a victim of gender-based violence at his hands and deciding to stay with him.

“I'm not crying for Patrick right now, I'm crying for my children. How are they going to recover from this. How? But I know God will be your father. I know God will always be there,” she said. “This pain is deep, very deep. For my children, it is deep, for my grandkids it is so deep ... he was a father first, he was a husband, he was a caretaker. He carried us. We were not perfect and he was not perfect.”

Pointing at her children, Sechaba, Tshepi and Kopano, with their children who were standing beside her as she spoke, Masechaba advised them not to be affected by the public's opinion of them.

“What people say about your father, about us as a family shouldn't matter. Don't allow people to shame you. Don't be defined by social media and the comments and everything. We are not defined by what society thinks or wants.”