HHP’s wife snubbed
Defiant Makoti waits till the end of burial to give HHP her own send off
The wife of late Hip Hop star Jabulani “HHP” Tsambo waited until everyone at his funeral had left the cemetery before going to his grave surrounded by her friends and family to pray and pay her last respects.
Lerato Sengadi, whose presence at the funeral was not acknowledged by the Tsambo family, had earlier maintained her confidence during his funeral service at Mmabatho Convention Centre.
HHP, who died on 24 October after an apparent suicide, was laid to rest at the Heroes Acre section at Matlalong cemetery yesterday.
Sengadi spent about five minutes, crying and praying next to Jabba’s grave. She then left, saying she was not going to comment about the funeral.
A day before the funeral, Sengadi’s fight with the Tsambo family over his burial played itself out at the South Gauteng High Court.
The publicist had filed a court application to stop HHP’s funeral but judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng denied the application, but ruled she was his customary wife.
Earlier at the grave site, the Tsambo family had sat at the far left while Sengadi sat with a group of HHP friends a distance away from the family.
It was a sad moment when family members were asked to throw soil inside the grave as is customary. HHP’s mother was the first to perform this ritual, followed by her husband Robert. The musician’s son Leano and his two sisters Ayanda and Zanele were next.
The rest of the family followed, trailed by Sengadi, who according to tradition, was chief mourner and should have been among the first to throw the soil.