Joe Mafela’s flashy tombstone temporarily taken down

“We unveiled the stone yesterday for the funeral and so it can be blessed. But it’s a heavy stone – six tonnes. The worst thing that could happen is that the stone sinks into the concrete. So we have had it removed so it [concrete] can all settle,” Bataung Memorials’ Lebohang Khitsane told TimesLIVE.

The tombstone has sparked debate after it was unveiled at Mafela’s funeral on Wednesday. It features a living room, table and TV set all cast in marble and is worth over a R100,000 and just under R300,000 as valued by tombstone companies.

It was designed by the family as they wanted a tombstone that would reflect how Mafela entertained audiences for years on TV.

“It wasn’t about the money, it was about giving Joe a fitting farewell and paying proper tribute to him. He was such an important part of people’s lives, and we really loved the idea of having him immortalised like this. Joe loved nothing more than to come home at the end of the day and just sit on the couch and watch TV,” Mafela family spokesperson Millicent ‘Milly’ Mulelu said.

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