Zondi's life celebrated
[caption id="attachment_37259" align="alignright" width="405"] FINAL GOODBYE: Actress Thami Ngubeni at the funeral of Metro FM DJ Eddie Zondi at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg yesterday. Picture: VELI NHLAPO[/caption]
PHAKAMILE Zondi had her head bowed as she walked behind the Batho Batsho Bako- pane pallbearers holding the casket carrying the body of her husband – Metro FM DJ Eddie Zondi – to his final resting place at Westpark Cemetery yesterday.
Zondi throughout the day hid her grief with a wide-brimmed hat.
Thousands of mourners attended the funeral service for the beloved DJ at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus.
The Imbizo Hall was packed with fans, with those who arrived late having to stand outside.
The mood was lightened when speakers recalled funny memories about Zondi.
Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane, who met Zondi on several occasions, recalled how his show, The Romantic Repertoire, made her feel romantic.
She said she would send Zondi requests to play her and her husband's favourite songs.
"On Sundays me and my friends went to church and knew that the rest of the day was reserved for Eddie Zondi. When ntate Mokonyane was at his golf matches I would send him an SMS motivated by Eddie's playlist.
"John Legend was one of the artists I loved, who will always make me remember Eddie," Mokonyane said.
Friend and colleague Robert Marawa noted how Zondi confessed to him that he knew he had met his future wife when he met Phakamile.
Marawa made a musical compilation dedicated to Zondi, including Lauren Wood's Fallen and It All Comes Down to Love by Bebe Winans. The selection from the sport presenter had the clergy dancing and singing along with the mourners.
Acting SABC chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng encouraged people to love each other while they were still alive and suggested that "we should open a trust for the kids of Eddie Zondi and others".
"This is so they can go to school because the only person who can work without matric is Hlaudi," he said, as the crowd responded with laughter. - Mashoto Lekgau
