Local media personality and pop culture icon Nomakula ‘Kuli’ Roberts was laid to rest on Thursday, February 17 in an intimate ceremony in Johannesburg.
Family and friends of the former “Trending SA” host gathered to bid farewell following the memorial service on Wednesday.
Kuli’s children, Thembela and Leaun Roberts shared a heartfelt tribute to their mother.
Leaun said: “My mother was the woman that shaped my sister and I into the adults we are today. And she was the most important person in the world to us.
“My mother was never just an actor or a presenter. My mother was never just a columnist. My mother was never just an editor. After my mother’s memorial yesterday I couldn’t help but be full to the brim with joy.
“Hearing everyone say such beautiful things about her while discussing their relationships and experiences with my mom, it just felt like a key being turned inside of me.
“Allow me to one, accept the tragedy that has occurred. Two, celebrate her life and the time we were able to spend with her.
“And three, I was able to understand that many, many other stories exist that more or less revolve around mom and her Spider-Man suit.”
He continued: “My mother was a supportive, charismatic, vulnerable, courageous black woman who fully provided for her two children...Our mother, Kuli Roberts was a great mother.“
Thembela echoed her brother’s sentiment regarding their mother.
“She was a fighter. She always fought for what she wanted and would never settle for anything less. She always knew what she wanted for herself, but more importantly for my brother and I.
“There are countless qualities of my mother that I will always remember. But the two that will always stand out for me the most was her hard work ethic as most of you would know and her selflessness,“ she said.
Family friend Criselda Kananda also paid tribute to Kuli, and like many other stories shared at the memorial service on Wednesday, shared how selfless and caring Kuli was. And stated how Kuli would also help those in need, whether personally or through her activism.
She ended her tribute by saying, “my friend, your friend, your daughter, your sister your mama. She came, she laughed, she cried, she served. Indeed to borrow from Beyoncé, she was here. Forever in our hearts.”