ANC man dies on way to pay lobolo for his fiancée
‘He said he didn’t have much time’
“Time is limited and I don’t have enough time, all I want is to make you my wife today [Friday].” These were the last words uttered by Tshepo Modikadika to his fiancée Bonolo Makgowe.
Modikadika, 32, died just 60km outside Kimberley before his wish could be fulfilled.
The ANC secretary of Ward 58 Ghandi Mahlangu branch was on his way from Joburg to pay lobolo for his girlfriend Bonolo Makgowe, 32, in Pampierstad outside Kimberley in Northern Cape.
The two had been together for one year when Modikadika proposed on their shared birthday in February.
“I did not understand his words then, I thought it was excitement that was talking. I am hurting that I could not fulfill his last wish. On Friday, when we were chatting, he told me a couple of times of how much he loves me. However just before 6pm, he went quiet and I tried calling him with no luck,” she said.
Makgowe said she received a call from Kimberley police at about 9pm, informing her about the accident.
“I did not want to believe it that that could not be my Tshepo. When I last saw him on Thursday we were both excited about the lobolo negotiations,” Makgowe said. “We stayed together in Johannesburg and he proposed on our [shared] birthday. We had plans to get married next year in February. I left on Thursday so that I could prepare myself for the negotiations,” she said.
“The past weekend was supposed to bring our families together, not through a funeral,” said a broken Makgowe.
She said Modikadika had a good relationship with her 10year-old daughter. “He had all the qualities I needed in a man. He was a father figure to my daughter.”
Modikadika’s father, Maboe, 68, said: “He was a pillar of our family and I expected him to bury me not the other way round… I last spoke to him around 5pm but three hours later, his phone was going straight to voicemail. I started panicking, thinking that maybe they were hijacked. I could not believe it when Makgowe’s family told me that my son was no more”.
ANC Joburg region spokesperson Jolidee Matongo said the party was saddened by Modikadika’s death.
“He was travelling with comrade Msholozi Mphahlele who is fighting for his life in hospital and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“On Tuesday we will announce a week-long programme to honour Modikadika,” Matongo said.