Just as the entertainment industry was beginning to recover from the loss of rapper Nkuli “Flabba” Habedi, another loss has rocked the industry.
Legendary musician and actor Senyaka Kekana died from pneumonia at Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging on Wednesday.
Family, friends and fans gathered in and around the pink walls of his house to remember the eccentric entertainer.
Danny “Kamazu” Malewa held non-alcoholic beer in his hand and choked up as he spoke on the phone about his best friend. “I worked with him, he was my partner. We were a duo and did Fong Kong together. We worked so well together. Senyaka was a people’s person.
“People should listen to his last track, Wa Phapha; he was an adviser of the nation. He could make you laugh at yourself. I always used to say he could make Mandela laugh at himself. Senyaka was fun.”
Malewa said he could tell since last week that his friend wasn’t well. “I heard when I got a call from a friend with the news, but I could see last week that something was wrong.
“I wasn’t happy with his state. He wasn’t strong and he wasn’t himself. He couldn’t even recognise me or talk.”
Rapper Tloks Lepara, who recently worked on a remix of the popular Chesa Mpama, DJ Walker’s song featuring Senyaka on vocals, said he could also tell that the musician wasn’t well.
“We shot the music video on February 22 and it was clear that he wasn’t okay when we were shooting. He complained about being tired. We had to stop for him to rest,” he said.
Lepara feels like he has lost a mentor. “I met him at a restaurant in the Eastern Cape and I went up to greet him, because it was Senyaka. The next day I saw him in the same hotel I was staying in, and since then we kept in contact.
“Last year, I proposed we do a remix of his hit song Chesa Mpama. He listened to my work and was impressed. I was hustling for both of us, setting up interviews and stuff. We were planning big things,” Lepara said.
When he heard the news, he tweeted: “RIP grootman, I’m grateful to be one of the young guys to ever work with you. And I’ll continue the legacy like you asked me to.
“Our video for Chesa Mpama remix was suppose to debut next week on @ChannelOTV and now he’s gone #RiPSenyaka #Teary.”
Back at Kekana’s home in Orlando West, his distraught daughter and stepdaughter comforted each other.
Kekana is survived by his live-in partner, his two daughters and a 12-year-old son.
He’ll be remembered for his hits Maponapona Satane, Romeo Wa Nkolota, Brenda ke Mpara as well as his movie Moruti Wa Tsotsi.