DEATH OF MANDLA THABETHE

Well-known television actor and DUT graduate dies in Gauteng.

Mandla (“Bongo””) Thabethe, well-known for his appearances in the SABC1 sitcom Family Bonds, died near the Emerald Casino, south of Johannesburg, on January 31.

The proud owner of a Harley Davidson motorbike which he bought in 2007 and a member of the Midrand-based Sopranos Biker’s Club, he was riding his bike when it apparently collided with a friend's motorcycle. It appeared that he had gone to the Emerald Casino to attend a biker's conference.

Thabethe’s class in his first year of study at Technikon Natal (now the Durban University of Technology) included Ndumiso Dlamini (Family Bonds), Simo Magwaza, the late Sifiso Msimang, the late Dom Dimba, Christa Biyela, Belinda Henwood, Patrick Kenny, Andrew Youd, Darren Webster and Verity Bowdon.

Tribute to follow from Debbie Lutge, Mandla Thabethe’s lecturer and DUT Drama Department HOD)