Malibongwe Gcwabe’s widow shares heartache over loss
Popular gospel singer succumbs to heart attack at the age of 51
“It never crossed my mind he would not make it. I was hoping that God would spare his life.”
Brenda Gcwabe tearfully shared details of her final moments with her husband, wellknown Eastern Cape gospel singer Malibongwe Gcwabe, who died on Wednesday.
His wife was with him when he died in the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital.
“I shook his lifeless body in disbelief, I even opened his eyes. I was hoping he was going to respond,” Brenda said.
“He did not, he was gone.” In an exclusive interview with the Dispatch at their Amalinda home, she said Gcwabe, 51, had suffered a heart attack.
She had taken him to the doctor earlier that day as he had difficulty breathing and could not keep food down. They were referred to hospital.
“We rushed straight to hospital. On the way, he was praying non-stop,” she said.
Brenda said the singer had complications with his heart in the past, “but on Wednesday it was really bad”.
“However, as bad as it was, it never crossed my mind that he would not make it.”
She said there was nothing that could have prepared her for the heartache of losing him.
“Though he passed away in front of me, I still do not believe he has passed away. It is like I am in a horrible nightmare.”
Tears rolled down her face as she described her “caring and loving” husband of nine years.
“He loved me, he loved our children. He was a good husband.”
Brenda said she had difficulty breaking the news to their children, who kept asking where he was when she returned from the hospital.
At the time of his death, Gcwabe had just recorded a single with Khanyisa Sabuka that was due for release soon.
“He lived for music. I would wake up in the middle of the night hearing him sing,” Brenda said.
Gcwabe was born in Worcester in the Western Cape and later moved to East London.
He began singing at a young age, but his career blossomed after joining the once popular Mdantsane-based gospel outfit Youth With Mission.
Leading it alongside Sabuka, the duo made the group one of the best to emerge from the Eastern Cape.
After releasing seven albums with the group, he left to focus on his solo career.
In 2002, Gcwabe released his
first solo album under Sipho Makhabane’s Amanxusa Music Production.
He established his own music label, Malibongwe Music Productions, and released popular songs such as
Taru Bawo, Unenceba, and Enkosi Bawo
Calvary.
He is survived by his wife and three children, Agape, 14, Genesis, seven, and Akahluleki, six.
Brenda said the date for the funeral was not yet confirmed.