Late South African actor Patrick Molefe Shai's coffin at Jabulani Theatre in Soweto, 29 January 2022, before its final rest at Westpark Cemetery. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The funeral service of Patrick Molefe Shai is currently underway at the Soweto Theatre in Johannesburg, with the veteran actor set to be laid to rest on Saturday.
Shai died last week Saturday at his home in Soweto, aged 66.
His life was celebrated at a memorial service on Thursday where his widow Mmasechaba called on people to start dealing with their issues, saying that his past shouldn’t taint his legacy and that his loss is very “deep” on her.
Mmasechaba described her late husband as a father, husband and caretaker, saying: “He carried us. We were not perfect, and he was not perfect.”
She further spoke of how society judged her for staying and their kids, “in spite of who their father was.”
The couple had been together for decades after getting into a relationship when Mmmaschaba was 17-years-old.
She told her kids not to allow people to shame them or to be defined by social media about what people thought about their father.
Shai has appeared on shows such as Soul City, Generations, Bophelo ke Semphekgo, 7de Laan and The River.
Fellow actors Sello Maake-ka Ncube and Nakedi Ribane served as the joined masters of ceremonies and saw to it that proceedings at the Soweto Theatre ran smoothly.
People such as Zwelinzima Vavi, actor Motlatsi Mafatshe and Israel Matseke-Zulu were in attendance.
His son, Lekhetho even sang during the funeral.
Speakers throughout the funeral spoke to the kind of man they knew Patrick Shai to be and had nothing but kind words to say about the man he was as well as who he was in his professional life.
Additional reporting by Kaunda Selisho
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