Fraudsters profiting out of gospel star’s funeral

THOSE close to late gospel star Sfiso Ncwane have been left disgusted by fraudsters who have illegally turned his funeral service into a money-making scheme by selling pirate DVDs for R10 on the streets of Durban.

According to newspaper Isolezwe‚ DVDs of the singer’s funeral service on December 10 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban have apparently been selling like hot cakes through street vendors.

The paper reports that on Durban’s bustling Warwick Avenue in the city centre‚ vendors can be heard shouting “Sfiso Ncwane funeral DVD for R10”.

Ncwane Communications spokesman Thobile Mchunu expressed disgust over the DVDs.

“We are deeply disappointed by this as a company. It is disgusting that people have chosen to take such a dignified occasion and turn it into entertainment and then try to make money from it. It is not right, and very disrespectful‚” she said.

Mchunu urged people not to support the sale of the DVDs‚ and warned that they would be involving the police.

“We are trying to find the culprits and we know who some of them are but‚ to be honest‚ we do not even know where to start. We will lay any charges we can against the people we find‚” she said.

Mchunu said they had not notified Ncwane’s widow‚ Ayanda, about the DVD sales as it would upset her immensely.

“Ayanda does not know about this because she is not on social media and does not read newspapers.

“We hope that we can sort this out before she finds out because we do not want to upset her while she is mourning.”

The gospel star died on December 5 after being taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with kidney failure.

Just over a month since Ncwane’s sudden death sent shockwaves through the nation, his family are still grappling to come to terms with the loss.

His widow broke her silence last week.

“I found it fitting to take a moment from my silent mourning and heavy painful grieving to say thank you to you all for showing deep love for my husband. Thank you for allowing me to mourn in peace and in private‚ as I start a very strange and new journey as a widow‚” she said.