After a lavish lifestyle all his life, he still had cash, cellphones and expensive clothes in his grave. His friends and some family members poured beer into his grave and tossed in money, cellphones and expensive clothes as an expression of their love for the Skhothane King.
There was singing and dancing, drinking and crazy displays of riches as his friends celebrated his short life at Olifantsvlei Cemetery on Saturday.
Paulos Amade from Orange Farm, south of Joburg, took his own life over a love tragedy.
He was 27 years old. According to his family, the father of three committed suicide on Father’s Day by drinking beer laced with rat poison.
At the cemetery, people were screaming, “Fakani futhi! Put more!” calling for clothes, cellphones and money to be thrown into the grave.
Jeannette Amade, Paulos’ sister, told Daily Sun they knew Paulos as a man of style, so they let his friends celebrate him the way they wanted.
“We could not oppose the manner they wanted to celebrate him. When they poured beer and put money and clothes into the grave, we understood that it was the same way they did things when he was still alive,” she said.
Meanwhile, Refiloe Wa Ga Khunou, a cultural expert, said what the young people had done was pure disrespect.
“This undermines our culture. It is a meaningless publicity stunt created by people who seek fame,” he said.
“There is nothing respectful about people pouring beer into a dead person’s final resting place. If they wanted to celebrate him, they should have done it while he was still alive.”