ALI MPHAKI
A car accident on Friday claimed the life of Mxolisi Maake kaNcube, 28, the son of top actor Sello Maake ka Ncube.
Mxolisi was a passenger with the driver and two other friends when their car lost control near the Xavier Street off-ramp on the M1 highway in Joburg.
The car hit two street poles and a tree before coming to a stop on an embarkment.
Mxolisi was the only one who died, while his three friends sustained only minor injuries.
Speaking to The Star yesterday, a grieving Maake ka Ncube said he was heartbroken to lose a son at such an early age, when there was so much still being expected of him.
“He was my firstborn from my childhood sweetheart in Atteridgeville, where I grew up,” said Maake ka Ncube, who contends that although his son was into music, he could have made it as an actor.
“Perhaps he was overshadowed by the fact that I am an actor, but his friends tell me he could easily imitate me and other people.
“I think he could have easily made it in the hurly-burly world of acting,” he said.
Mxolisi was working at music retail store Musica. He loved music and was a go-getter, his father said.
Maake ka Ncube said a memorial service was being planned for sometime during the week. Mxolisi would be buried on Saturday in Atteridgeville.
Maake ka Ncube is a seasoned and esteemed actor who has played various roles on stage, movies and television. One of his popular roles was that of businessman Archie Moroka on the SABC’s most popular soap opera, Generations, until 2002. He is currently playing a lead role in the e.tv soapie Scandal.
He has performed in the US, Britain, Canada and Europe, and has featured in several films, including A Dry White Season, Taxi to Soweto and Othello.
The actor has five other children.