According to a statement from his family released on Friday, Mapaputsi died after a short illness. In August, it was reported he was in poor health.
Last month, TshisaLIVE reported that Mapaputsi had said he was not bedridden. He posted a WhatsApp status in which he denied he was seriously ill and suggested he was ready to hit the stage again. That was the last time South Africans heard from him.
“Baphi laba, baphi laba ... bathi ubani osembhedeni? [Where are they, where are they ... they who say I’m bedridden?] Angizwanga ... mina ngise Durban mos, awufuna uku’booker book see you soon [Excuse me ... I’m in Durban. If you want to book, I’ll see you soon]. I’m in Durban having a good time,” he said a month ago.
His manager, Busi Kunene, told TshisaLIVE journalist Kgomotso Moganedi a media briefing would be held in due course, after his death had been confirmed.
The family would like the space and privacy to process the news and make plans for his burial and memorial service.
“We ask you please to include the Ngwenya family in your prayers in these most difficult times,” the family statement said.
LISTEN | A tribute to Mapaputsi: the last time SA saw and heard from him
Image: Facebook/Mapaputsi Paps
He was a kwaito legend and a maestro of the genre that shaped South African music in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Born Sandile Ngwenya, and known to many as ‘Mapaputsi’, he took his last breath on Thursday September 5 2024.
Listen here to the tribute:
According to a statement from his family released on Friday, Mapaputsi died after a short illness. In August, it was reported he was in poor health.
Last month, TshisaLIVE reported that Mapaputsi had said he was not bedridden. He posted a WhatsApp status in which he denied he was seriously ill and suggested he was ready to hit the stage again. That was the last time South Africans heard from him.
“Baphi laba, baphi laba ... bathi ubani osembhedeni? [Where are they, where are they ... they who say I’m bedridden?] Angizwanga ... mina ngise Durban mos, awufuna uku’booker book see you soon [Excuse me ... I’m in Durban. If you want to book, I’ll see you soon]. I’m in Durban having a good time,” he said a month ago.
His manager, Busi Kunene, told TshisaLIVE journalist Kgomotso Moganedi a media briefing would be held in due course, after his death had been confirmed.
The family would like the space and privacy to process the news and make plans for his burial and memorial service.
“We ask you please to include the Ngwenya family in your prayers in these most difficult times,” the family statement said.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE
Kwaito legend Mapaputsi has died
‘I’m not bedridden,’ says Mapaputsi
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