When she first got on stage to facilitate the memorial service of her darling friend, she couldn’t help but shed a few tears.
As she wiped the tears off her bare face, she gathered just enough strength to introduce herself to everyone in attendance and tell them to embrace the celebration of the life and times of Mthobeli KCi August.
To her, KCi went from being an aspirational broadcaster, to colleague and then to a friend she held dear to her heart.
From the day they first met to his last days, they adored each other and were inseparable, so much so that almost every speaker that got on stage to honour KCi mentioned just how much KCi loved her.
If anything, it was the assurance Zizo Tshwete (nee Beda) needed to carry through the service gracefully with the laughter she would’ve let out a couple of times in KCi’s presence.
After hearing what everyone had to say about her friend, she tells Drum on the sidelines of the proceedings that his death still feels surreal.
“It's still a very surreal feeling. Loss is never easy. The only thing that comforts me is just the certainty that I know he loved me, and he knows I loved him. I guess from this, it's just a continuous celebration of everything he meant to us.”
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When she first met him, it was for an insert on Selimathunzi where she was a presenter and KCi was a guest, cooking with Lundi for some of the show’s viewers.
She reminisces about how they hit it off and got along like a house on fire on the spot as if they had known each other for a very long time.
“It wasn't really kind of like ‘you meet him’ kind of thing because we grew up listening to him. So, it was almost like a full circle moment. It felt like someone I'd always known my whole life. I even just remember uMakhulu wam (my grandmother) when she found out that I would be working with him at uMhlobo Wenene. She was so excited about the calendar that they do each year.
“It was a highlight for her that I would be standing next to him in the calendar [picture] that she would have on her wall. She grew up waiting to have the calendar. She didn't worry about the job or whatever. She was just like, you're going to be with uMaKay,” she giggles.
The pair co-hosted Masigoduke on uMhlobo Wenene FM until 2017 when he was sacked from his afternoon drive show and was replaced by Amaza Ntshanga and Reggie Solani.
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Their spark was evident on and off the airwaves as they got closer and closer to each other as friends.
“We just understood each other. We really just understood each other. He's just the most genuine person. And he had such a big heart to accommodate whoever you are and whatever you're about. I didn't feel judged by him. I didn't feel interrogated by him. I didn't feel intimidated by him. I really just felt like I always belonged when I was with him.”
In every conversation they had till the last one, Zizo remembers how KCi would always be affirming and loving.
“He would always check on how everybody's doing. He would always affirm you and just tell you how much he loved you and tell you how much you shine a light into the world. Whether I saw him in studio, whether I spoke to him on the phone, whether he was sending an SMS, it was always positive. So, I'll hold on to that.”
