Celebrities and community members of Alexandra gathered in the East Bank Community Hall to mourn the passing of well-known actor, writer and director Bongani Dlamini.
Music groups Victory, Thusong and Aye hosted the memorial service on 31 May.
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Dlamini, who was the founder of Alexandra Youth in Action Ensemble, a non-profit organisation which grooms and nurtures young talented actors, died in a car accident on 27 of May in Witbank, Mpumalanga aged 39.
He started his acting career at a young age in the local play, Eat and leave the bones and was later described as a man of many talents who loved his job and would sacrifice family time for it.
Speaking at the memorial service, former Isidingo actor and member of Victory, Meshack Mavuso said, “We are here to celebrate the life of a hero and I urge all of you to join us as Victory and Thusong in doing so.”
Rifilwe Pieterse, one of Dlamini mentees, described him as a fighter who refused to be told that he could not do something. “Bongani taught us to tell our own African stories and built us to be who we are today. He had so much love for theatre and music and spent much of his time helping us to be the best in the industry,” said Pieterse.
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As speakers and performers took to the stage pictures of a smiling Dlamini kept rolling on a big screen behind them.
Dlamini leaves behind his wife Thandazo Moloi, and their four children Nkazimulo, Musa, Nkosinathi and Kutlwano.
