Mystery death of top pianist shocks SA

Published Feb 14, 2001

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Moses Molelekwa's tragic death on Wednesday, apparently by his own hand, has left the music world, both locally and internationally, devastated.

Utter disbelief and inconsolable grief - increased by the news that his wife, Florence Mthoba, died with him, leaving behind a five-year-old son - greeted the fact that one of South Africa's most promising jazz artists, and one of the few musicians in the world deserving of the title genius, was found hanging from a beam in his Johannesburg office on Tuesday night.

Molelekwa was seen by many of his peers as the natural successor to fellow South African jazz giants Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim.

Many of his contemporaries described him as a gentle soul; a man who seemed to embrace life, not shun it; and a man who had risen, against enormous odds, to the very top.

Many theories have been put forward in an bid to explain why a man as young as Molelekwa, 28, would die in the tragic manner that he did. Friends and fellow musicians spoke of the tempestuous relations Molelekwa had with Mthoba.

It is suspected that a violent argument preceded the death of Mthoba and then Molelekwa took his life by hanging himself with a cord.

Mthoba's body was found by her brothers sprawled on the floor and the musician hanging from a beam by a cord in their Newtown Precinct office in Johannesburg late on Tuesday.

Molelekwa was a hit with many South African jazz fans. He was among the most sought-after artists for jam sessions, and packed many jazz venues such as Kippie's, the Bassline and many more.

His music was popular - he sold thousands of CDs in South Africa and internationally and also recorded collaborations with some of the world's top jazz musicians.

The legendary Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, owner of Kippie's International, where Molelekwa played to full houses on a number of occasions, summed up the general sentiment in the music industry: "There are so many questions but very few answers. All of us who knew him are grieving."

He added: "When I walked into his office, where he and his wife were found dead, the first thing I saw was the cord, which he supposedly used to hang himself, dangling from a beam. The room was in a mess, with things scattered everywhere.

"His last performance (at Kippie's) was the most beautiful. It was as if he had a premonition. The way I am feeling right now is the way I felt when Steve Biko died. They both graced us with their presence, did what they had to do in a very short time and then vanished, and we are left behind to deal with the pain.

"It's as if we were only allowed snippets of their lives and what they stood for," Mabuse said, shaking his head in disbelief.

He went on: "Right now everyone is speculating about what really happened but, if he did kill himself, I am asking myself what was so insurmountable that he could not handle. But at the same time I am thinking that they are dead. They must be left to rest because only the two of them know what happened," he said.

Molelekwa, who was born in Thembisa on the East Rand, was not one to say much, Mabuse said, but when there was something that deeply troubled him, he would go to his piano and play.

Described as a musical genius, Molelekwa managed to transform how people - particularly the young - viewed jazz.

Musician Gloria Bosman said she was still in shock over the news. "It just caught me off guard totally. I still feel that somebody will call me and say it is just a joke. The saddest part of the whole thing is that you never really know how deep someone's wound is. Sometimes people try to reach out to you and you don't really know that they are doing so."

She added: "He has always been unhappy and I think everybody in the music industry knew that. He always had a smile that said 'No, I am okay', but he was just putting on a (brave) face."

Police said a postmortem would be conducted to determine the cause of the deaths.

The Molelekwa family did not want to comment on Wednesday.

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