There's a plethora of opinions about what the legacy of slain businessman and socialite Mr Patrick 'Kid' Mokoena, best known as 'Tsebanyana' in Bushbuckridge (Mpumalanga) will be. Mokoena was gunned down in the shady underworld where he made most of his fortune and which indications are that he was recently trying to escape through his new-found fascination with the entertainment industry. Some blame the smae industry for exposing him too much to people with nefirous motives. Daily Sun and Sowetan newspapers separately claimed that he was shot on the head outside a nightclub in Hillbrow, one of the two alleged in a pub.
As news of his killing gripped Bushbuckridge as early as the Sunday of October 14 different people gave conflicting accounts of the man best known to South Africa as an actor in Muvhango (SABC2) and Soul City (SABC1) and owner of emerging record label Why-Not Entertainment. To the rest of the country Mokoena was a shrewd businessman who told Shift on SABC1 that emerging enterpreneurs should form consortiums to advance their businesses. Why-Not was bigger than a record label as he had it branded on all his products, inclusing the clothes he wore when performing live.
In Bushbuckridge Mokoena was both feared and revered. He was feared for some of the things he reportedly did during his transition from a feared taxi industry enforcer to entertainment wannabe. In his early days in the taxi business he developed a certain notoriety as a ruthless enforcer, a role he admitted to as part of his atonement crusade.
Residents of Violetbank and Shatale remember how he once caught young men stealing from him, stripped them naked and forced them to go into a supermarket and buy products while everybody watched. He paraded the poor suspects without having taken them through a proper trial. And Mokoena always had permanent side-kicks around him, which raised a question of where were they when he finally caught the hot lead on October 13.
Some residents remember him for forcing a patron to pick what remained of an Okapi knife from red-hot furnace, burning his hand in the process. Some remember him for a drinking contest he staged that went wrong when a contestant suffered alcohol poisoning and died.
In Shatale and Dwarsloop he's remembered for the good life he pursured in his VW Caravelle Exclusive, Chrysler Voyager and gold BMW Ci. "He loved his braais and Red Bull", said one resident. It should be mentioned that as he was revered, many people wanted to be him in a big way.
The people of Ga-Relane will remember him for the endless parties he threw whenever he was home. This included free food and beer for everyone.
Bushbuckridge Taxi Association spokesperson and Mokoena's close confidante Kenneth Ngobeni said as an association they were still shocked and speechless. He however said they will remember Mokoena as someone who wanted development. "He was not jealous but wished that all people should good taxis and grow in the business", Ngobeni said. Mok
oena is said to have bought himself three brand new Toyota Quantum kombis just last month.Mbhita ya Vhunanga record label owner and artist Felix 'Maphongo' Mathebula who hosted Mokoena at Miss Mbhita ya Vhunanga last month said, "he was an ambassador for Bushbuckridge. He changed stereotypes about how people lived in this area. People always thought we lived like gorillas but he brought celebrities to experience our life and to know that people lived here". Mathebula said when he told Mokoena that he'll be staging Miss Mbhita ya Vhunanga two months ago he just said 'okay I'll be there' and he pitched and even performed, all the way from Jozi.
Mokoena also recently organised a celebrity car wash where all proceeds were donated to a charity organisation in Shatale. If there's something he knew too well it was to party and enjoy life. Without any acting qualification he won roles in Muvhango and Soul City. He discovered the Durban based kwaito group Beat Nuz and went on to produce them and make a cameo in their video. He was jsut starting to live his life and contributing to the welfare of the people who feared him for long.
In eulogising a murdered Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony said, "the evil that men do lives after them. The good often get buried with their bones". So, let it be with Tsebanyana, a self-made man who reportedly died owning a fleet of 14 taxis, not bad for someone who started off washing other people's kombis. Mokoena will be buried on 27 October 2007 at his parents' home in Ga-Relane and thousands are expected to attend. Funeral arrangements have not yet been communicated. May he rest in peace.
Rest In Peace My Nigga!
ReplyDeleteAnd hey Ten Workers. Is it possible that you could put this in a national paper? Please try.
You have just confirmed something I've been trying not to hear....
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me about Kid's death and I was like "na man, its probably someone else". Kid will be missed by a lot of people, me included. It's so unreal.... death is normal but there are just some people that one would expect to live for a long, long time & to me that man was one of them, I've just flash backs of the parties we had with him, @ his expense.... as hard as he was at times, most of us saw his nice part mostly. He had a lot of things going for him! another person that always had a lot of people around him almost all the time but at his last moment.... he died alone!
LIFE....
Incane into ebulala umuntu, indeed!
May he rest in peace.