When I went to see Dumi’s body, it wasn’t him, says his widow

Dumi Masilela’s widow, Simphiwe Ngema, spoke for the first time during her husband’s memorial service held at the Hope Restoration Church in Kempton Park, on Joburg’s East Rand on Wednesday.

In videos circulating on social media, Ngema can be seen crying as videos of her wedding play on a screen and when other speakers pay tribute to her late husband.

The widow was praised by people on social media for being “a woman of strength” after they saw videos of her dancing to Masilela’s Shona Pantsi, and leading a gospel song on stage.

Taking to the podium, Ngema said: “Nothing ever prepares you that one day you’ll be a 27-year-old widow, that all the dreams you’ve dreamt of will be taken away from you, but today I’m not here to speak on my behalf, I’m here to speak on his behalf.

“The day he passed away, I had to go identify the body and, I remember when we got there, the guys were like, ‘You guys are so young, where are the elders?’

“When I went to see his body yesterday [Tuesday], it wasn’t him. I felt like I was looking at his suit and I remember someone saying, our bodies are just that. They are just that. And I was reminded of a Bible scripture that says: ‘For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’

“We might ask questions, I have a lot of questions, I ask God, ‘Why are you bringing him into my life, only to take him back?'”

Though she had a lot of questions about her husband’s death, she said it had been time for him to leave.

The actress further praised her late husband for being “perfect”. She said that, in him, she had seen a reflection of herself.

“It was time. If God wanted him to be healed, he would have been healed. Dumi was perfect. I saw God in Dumi. God lived in him.

“I could never fit in with other people, with my peers, because I am also a spiritual person and I felt like sometimes I was too deep. But when I met Dumi I saw a reflection of myself,” TimesLive quoted her as saying.

Medics checked on Simphiwe and Dumi’s mother after her tribute. Another mourner reportedly collapsed and had to be taken out of the hall.

The Rhythm City actor died following a hijacking ordeal last week on Wednesday in Tembisa. Masilela spent the night fighting for his life in hospital after being shot during the attempted hijacking.

Check out the multimedia from the funeral shared on social media:

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