The love story of the adventure couple Gugulethu and Letshego Zulu came to a heart-wrenching end in 2016 when one of them died while trying to summit Mount Kilimanjaro.
Three years later, the businesswoman and fitness enthusiast penned a book detailing her experience after the death of her husband, Gugulethu. It was released last month.
In an intimate session on grief and loss, Letshego sat down with veteran anchor Cathy Mohlahlana, Imbumba Foundation chief executive Richard Mabaso and Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang to discuss the book at the Nelson Mandela Foundation offices in Houghton on Wednesday night. The conversation delved into that fateful day Gugulethu died.
The memoir, I Choose to Live: Life After Losing Gugu, shares the details about the gruelling summit attempt which ended in tragedy after her motor racing driver husband experienced respiratory problems, resulting in his untimely death.
“I shared it so intimately and vividly purely because I feel that the stories of loss are often kept behind closed doors. We don’t share those stories,” said Letshego.
During the discussion, she recalled that fateful day on July 18, 2016, saying she was an optimistic person but knew something was not right with her husband.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/letshegom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@letshegomreads an extract where she discussed her life after Gugu died. | @ReporterStar pic.twitter.com/NCr2vGPMMH
— Chulumanco Mahamba (@Chulu_M)
“But I had to maintain my strength, I had to remain upright because the guides could not afford to have two people to carry down the mountain,” she said.
Mabaso, who was with the adventure couple on the mountain, said that when he read the book he could recall where they were at each and every point.
“I remember calling Mr Hatang at 2am to say: ‘Look, we are having challenges and we are walking back to Horombo because Gugs is not feeling well.’ And I think he could sense by my voice that I was trying not to make him panic but make him aware that we are expecting the worst,” he said.
Hatang was in Joburg at the time for the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture where American business magnate Bill Gates was the main speaker.
Hatang said that when Mabaso called that night he could not comprehend that Gugulethu was ill.
“I could not connect the two. Gugu can never be in trouble and if there was one person who was the fittest, it was Gugu,” he said.
Letshego said the months following her husband's death were difficult but her family and Gugulethu’s family were there to provide support.
“I was lucky and blessed to have them right there ready to catch me if I fall, make me food. All I needed to do is try and roll out of bed,” she said.
She said she went from needing assistance from her family daily to choosing to live because of a woman named Chelsea from the US.
"The woman had also lost her husband on the mountain nine months before Gugulethu died, and after the news broke, she contacted Letshego.
“One night I was lying in bed at Gugu’s parents’ house, something told me to go on to social media and look her up. I went on to her Instagram page and I saw life in her images,” she said.
Letshego said from that point there was light at the end of the tunnel because this woman had gone through a very similar situation.
The widow said she prioritised being present and continuing to live her life to the fullest following the tragedy.
“I am being open to life and open to life experiences. I am living life to the fullest like Gugu Zulu did. He lived a fuller life than some people in their seventies and that drives me,” she said.