By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Family and friends paid their last respects to Big Nuz founding member Mandla ‘Mampintsha’ Maphumulo at a memorial service at the eThekwini Community Church in Durban on Thursday.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited Maphumulo’s family and his widow, Bongekile ‘Babes Wodumo’ Simelane, at their home ahead of the memorial service this morning.
The premier’s office on Wednesday said it would work with the eThekwini municipality to provide material support to the family for the burial.
“In addition to meeting the family halfway with regard to the funeral costs, the province will also provide socio-psychological support to family members and relatives after the passing of the 40-year-old musical superstar, “said spokesperson Lennox Mabaso.
Mampintsha, a leading member of Big Nuz, the popular award-winning musical group started in Umlazi township, died in Durban on Saturday.
His funeral will be at the Durban ICC on Friday.
“As a province, within our policy, we have decided that a megastar of this magnitude deserves our support as he exits the stage and departs for the last “time to the world beyond,” said Dube-Ncube.
Mampintsha and Big Nuz led a musical revolution in South Africa that focused the eyes of the world on KwaZulu-Natal.
“Working under the Afrotainment label Big Nuz revolutionised kwaito and township dance music, making KwaZulu-Natal the mecca of entertainment, whereas it used to be Gauteng. During his life, this genre opened doors for hundreds of young artists who make a living from this KZN-born dance music.
“On behalf of the provincial government we express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and followers of Mampintsha. We will play our part to facilitate a decent send-off for this pioneering artist as he drops the mic for the last time,” said Dube-Ncube.
Mampintsha was one of the remaining members of the award-winning kwaito group Big Nuz. He was married to Babes Wodumo.
Tensions were visibly high in the front row at the memorial service as Mampintsha’s mother sat a few seats away from his widow and artist Bongekile ‘Babes Wodumo’ Simelane.
The two women who held important roles in the life of the muso have in the past made their dislike for each other public through the reality television show Uthando Lodumo and various media reports.
Maphumulo’s mother, Zamanguni Gumede, surrounded by her family, arrived at the memorial service at the eThekwini Community Church in Durban over an hour late, disrupting music boss DJ Tira’s speech who had to stop as she sat down and asked the crowd to welcome her.
Gumede, who was walking with the aid of two other women who were holding her arms side by side, walked into the hall, which turned silent as she passed Simelane and her family in the front row – reserved for family – and sat at the other end.
Gumede was not on the programme as Maphumulo’s father, Thembinkosi, his sister Khanyo, Simelane’s father, Welcome, and her sister Nondumiso represented the family.
Simelane, however, who was surrounded by armed guards, appeared in good spirits as she held their son, Sponge, in her arms and danced to Maphumulo’s group Big Nuz’s new song ngeke, which prompted the crowd to burst into song and danced along with her.
But the musician was brought to tears when Maphumulo’s close friends took to the stage to share their memories and described him as a breadwinner to all of them.
Speaking on behalf of industry friends and their group Big Nuz, the only surviving member of the group and long-term friend Mzi ‘Danger’ Ntsomela said he was saddened to lose another member of the group.
Ntsomela said he would continue with the legacy of the group along with the help of other artists, including music boss and the group’s former manager DJ Tira.
“We were not people who talked a lot, all of us as a group, from R Mashesha, Mampintsha and myself. We were people who liked to chill in the studio and make music. We thank you for your support from day one.
“We were the first Durban artists to have a song of the year. It was not because we were wiser. We just became united as artists,” he said.
DJ Tira, given name Mthokosizi Khathi, added he would support Simelane’s music career in his friend’s honour.
“Our friend is gone. We will cry, but we also believe that his spirit is with us and we still have some work to do to raise his children and his company. West Ink can’t die. It is our company,” he said.
The music boss added: “It is still unbelievable that my friend is gone. It is hard. There are things that you never think will happen. I never thought that in my life I would see Mampintsha’s picture behind me like this. My heart is still sore but what will make us go forward is the love that you give us.”
Thembinkosi Maphumulo, the father of the late musician Mampintsha, had to fight back his tears a couple of times as he told mourners, he was still struggling to deal with his son’s death because he was sick for a short period of time before he passed on Christmas Eve at Durdoc Hospital after suffering from a stroke a week before.
“I’m sorry for being emotional because he was my only child and his passing still cuts deep… The way he died still pains me because he fell sick for a short period before he left us. He spoke to me during his time at hospital and assured me that he still walks with God and He still blesses him in his career. That meant a lot to me because most people would say that he lost his Christian values because of the music he was affiliated with,” said Maphumulo between taking long pauses fighting back the tears.
“God has always been with me even when I was raising him (Mampintsha). He (Mampintsha) was raised in church singing for a choir and that made him a people’s person. Wherever I went after his passing, people would give me their support and to me that meant I had raised a great man in Mampintsha,” said Maphumulo.
Babes Wodumo’s father Bishop Welcome Simelane, told mourners about how proud he was of having a son-in-law in like Mampintsha.
“I thank him for leaving me behind a grandson, Sponge. Mampintsha played a huge role in Babes’ music career. I thank him for that because he supported and groomed my child to be a star she is today. She can now support herself financially because of Mampintsha. You hardly get men like that these days, men who would support their spouses the way Mampintsha did,” said Simelane.
Watch Live in the Video Below:
Video Courtesy of SABC.