Final farewell to fallen hero

The sky was grey and filled with rain as I walked out of the tunnel and onto the field at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. To my left there were hundreds of fans singing in unison. Songs of praise. Songs of hope. Songs of mourning. Songs for Sfiso Ncwane.

After looking at the weather forecast on my way to Durban on Saturday morning‚ I knew that it was going to rain‚ but I wasn’t prepared for how symbolic it would prove to be.

You see‚ it was hard to see the rain falling on such a solemn occasion without thinking that maybe the heavens were joining us in weeping over the death of our hero.

At the start of the funeral‚ I positioned myself in the lobby where a number of high-profile personalities came through on their way to the hospitality suites upstairs.

I thought that they might have been selfishly avoiding the rain by choosing these suites instead of sitting on the field.

Little did I know that they would later return to form a large group that would march onto the field‚ ahead of the convoy which included the Ncwane family and Sfiso’s body. It was a mighty show of unity. A reminder of Sfiso’s power to unite all with his music.

There were several stand-out moments for me. Watching TV hard man Menzi Ngubane break down on stage showed how much Sfiso had meant to his friend, while a farewell salute from a group of the most popular musicians in the country proved how much Sfiso had meant to the whole industry.

But perhaps the most touching was a musical tribute from gospel legend Rebecca Malope.

Having watched her perform at a memorial for Sfiso just a day before‚ I knew that her performance would be an emotional one. But I was not prepared for the deep emotion that Rebecca put into her performance. Starting at Ayanda Ncwane’s side‚ Rebecca made her way to Sfiso’s casket where she sung a chilling rendition of Let Me Come to You.

Just moments before her performance a letter from Ayanda to her husband was read. It was the same letter that was read at his memorial at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto‚ but it seemed to pierce my soul as the words echoed through the stadium.

All too soon‚ it was over. The speeches ran out‚ the songs were all sung‚ and all that was left was the grim reality that Sfiso Ncwane was finally gone.

As I left the stadium feeling a little mournful‚ I noticed hundreds of fans hanging from balconies above where the funeral procession was passing. They were singing Sfiso’s songs.

This was a final reminder of how much people loved the late gospel star. And how‚ come rain or shine‚ they wanted nothing more than to simply sing for him. Songs of praise. Songs of hope. Songs of mourning. Songs for Sfiso Ncwane. — TshisaLIVE