It has been 16 years since the tragic death of singer and choreographer Lebo Mathosa. This year she would have been 45 years old.
The Boom Shaka band member died at 29 years old after her driver lost control of her Toyota Prado while traveling on the N3 Highway on the East Rand.
The kwaito and pop icon may be no more, but her music lives on and is still being blasted on radio stations across the country.
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In recent reports, the family of the Ntozabantu singer said they was heartbroken to find the tombstone of Lebo “vandalised and destroyed beyond repairs”.
Lebo was buried at Phumlani Cemetery on the East Rand, Gauteng.
Lebo’s brother, Solly Mathosa, however says the tombstone was never vandalised as reports stated. But the family has been offered a new tombstone by Manyano Memorials to upgrade the stone.
“I don’t like people saying it was vandalised because it was not,” he says.
“The tombstone was still intact from 2006 until 2019 when Themba and Oscar offered to upgrade the stone. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we could not announce the upgrade,” he says.
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Themba of Manyano Memorials based in Katlehong, East Rand, says it was an honour working on Lebo’s tombstone. “We read an article in the newspaper saying that Lebo Mathosa’s tombstone was vandalized and we were heartbroken,” Themba says.
“As a music icon who was and still is highly celebrated throughout the country, we wanted to honour her memory in a fitting way for the kind of person she was,” he adds.
Themba and Oscar learned that the stone was irreparable and therefore decided to replace it.
“The stone was completely damaged beyond repairs when we went to view it. We had to start from scratch and redesign the stone, fixing it was going to be impossible. We met up with the family, decided on a design, and put the stone up,” he says.
“It was a pleasure for us to contribute toward the legacy of Lebo Mathosa. We wanted to do something that will match her stature and go all out. The stone was completely destroyed.”
Themba says the new stone is valued at R150 000.
“We went all out, not because there was any monetary gain, but because we wanted to play our part in history.
"We grew up listening to her and she comes from the same area as us in Ekurhuleni.
"She inspired a lot of youth, and this is the least we could do.”
