South African music star Mandoza dies at 38

South Africa: South African kwaito and hip-hop artist, Mduduzi Tshabalala, also known as Mandoza, from Soweto has died on Sunday at the age of 38 after a long battle with cancer.


Mandoza who was also suffering from a brain tumour was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Before his death his health was said to have rapidly deteriorated.

His family had announced last week that he was being treated of cancer for the second time in a year‚ this time a brain tumour.

Mandoza's last public appearance was at the Thank You SABC concert in Soweto last weekend, where he was aided on stage by friends as he performs and also took time out to thank God for his life and the fans for praying for him.

“We surrender to the Almighty who restores our lives. I’m here to perform for you. To show you that the devil is a liar. The devil is a liar!” Mandoza told the cheering crowd.

Mandoza was known for a number of kwaito hits, including 2000’s Nkalakatha, a track that earned him a Song of the Year award at the 2001 SAMAs.

His fans took to Twitter to mourn the star as the hashtags #Mandoza and #ripmandoza were trending.

The South Africa government through its Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula’s Tweeted that, the South African government also sent its “deepest condolences” to those affected.