South Africans are mourning the death of singer Mduduzi Tshabalala, popularly known as Mandoza, who died at the age of 38 after a long battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with a head and neck cancer in 2015 and died on Sunday (18 September) on his way to a hospital in Johannesburg.
Mandoza was a Kwaito musician. This music genre, similar to hip-hop, emerged in Johannesburg in the late 1980s.
South African musician and kwaito superstar Mandoza with his wife Mpho and their two sons Tumelo
In spite of his illness, Mandoza performed at the Thank You SABC Concert earlier in September.
“We surrender to the Almighty who restores our lives. I’m here to perform for you. To show you that the devil is a liar. The devil is a liar!'” he was quoted as saying during his performance.
Following Mandoza’s death, his son Tokollo Tshabalala said in an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation:
“I think I’m just happy that my dad died a proud man because he had everything he wanted in life. Every time he’d tell me that he never got a chance to spend time with his dad so all he ever wanted was to raise his children.”
Hundreds of people have taken to social media to pay tribute to the singer, praised for using his music to send positive messages and trying to highlight social problems affecting South Africa.