By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Radio and TV presenter Pearl Shongwe was remembered and celebrated at a memorial service held at the SABC in Auckland Park, Joburg.
Shongwe died at her Polofields Estate, North of Joburg, on Tuesday, November 8. She was 35.
The Metro FM presenter will be laid to rest at the Nasrec Memorial Park on Saturday.
At the time of her untimely death, Shongwe was a news presenter and presenter on the popular radio and television shows “The Touchdown” show on Metro FM and SABC 1’s youth programme “Daily Thetha”.
Pearl was passionate, elegant, attentive, reliable and loving, said her cousin, Nomkhosi Shongwe, who was the first speaker at the service held on 16 November 2022.
She never expected to speak at her cousin’s funeral but at her wedding – even though Pearl never wanted to get married.
Pearl’s aunt, Zinhle Nene, said the hardest fact to accept about her passing is that she did not say goodbye.
She said she could attest to the fact that her niece was a loving person who always wanted to see people laugh.
Zinhle recalled a song that Pearl used to request her colleague to play on Sunday by Celine Dion. “The song speaks about saying goodbye and it is sad because Pearl didn’t get to say goodbye.”
The head of local production at the SABC Lala Tuku spoke about Pearl’s passion, especially at the time when they were relaunching SABC1’s daytime talk show Daily Thetha.
Pearl was an integral part of the relaunch of the show, she said.
Lala shared that the last time she spoke to Pearl, they were in a salon. Pearl mentioned that she was tired, said Lala.
Radio presenter Wilson B Nkosi recalled the jokes he shared with the talented news anchor and the hours they spent together talking about serious things and light-hearted matters at work.
“I was drawn to Pearl by many things, some seen things, some unseen things. There were conversations, there were deep conversations but there was also small talk. In all the years I’ve spent in this university called the Metro FM, after my show I go home, but when Pearl was reading the news on Sunday, I found myself knocking off and spending an hour or two hanging out with her in the studio and there would be laughter in the studio.”
“I want to say to the Shongwe family, we need to ask for guidance, and comfort. The preacher said it is hard, but it will pass. The only thing I could think of right now is Pearl’s beautiful smile, the main thing for all of us is to celebrate and rejoice in her life because we had the privilege to spend life with her,” Metro FM’s programme manager Siyanda Fikelepi told Pearl’s family and loved ones.
“If someone had told me that I will be speaking on such a day I would’ve told them that they are lying,” Pearl’s sister, Nonhlanhla Shongwe, said before sharing moving words.
“I never thought that the day will come, and I will speak at my sister’s funeral. I wrote a poem, and I will recite it.
Her radio career was launched in 2010 when she worked for the youth radio station YFM as an entertainment reporter, alongside Moeti ‘Moflava’ Tsiki.
Livestream Video Below:
Video Courtesy of Metrofm.