All the speakers at his funeral agreed that Vusi MaR5 took bacardi music to new heights.

As his relatives, children and wife, Sana Mosoeu, were reeling from the loss of their loved one, fellow musicians wondered whether they would ever be able to fill the void he had left.

The “Chomi ke changitse” hitmaker, whose real name was Itumeleng Mosoeu, was laid to rest in his hometown of Mabopane, north of Tshwane on Sunday.

 

 

 

The singer was shot and killed outside a club after his performance at a Magents stokvel in Soshanguve Extension 17 last Monday.

The funeral service was attended by City of Tshwane officials and Gauteng MEC for Arts and Culture, Morakane Mosupye. The sombre mood at the start was soon replaced with a celebration of his life as artists and dancers he worked with took to the stage.

His aunt, Esther Mnisi, pleaded with the killer, who remains at large as police are yet to make any arrests following his death.

“There are still more innocent people there. Please stop. It is enough, you have hurt this family. Please don’t put another family through what we’re going through.”

Mnisi said Vusi MaR5 began his career performing at stokvels. She said he would also on occasion perform at her tavern but had to stop when he grew too popular.

“He would dance for patrons and when I reprimanded him, they would be against me. I stopped attending stokvels and let him take over, but he became bigger and could no longer perform at my tavern because I couldn’t accommodate all his fans.”

His friend and colleague, Enny Man the Guitar, said he had never dreamt of losing Vusi.

“Last Wednesday we had a studio session and we recorded some music. He had so many plans and we joked that he need not age to fulfil all his plans, not knowing he had a very limited time left,” he said.

He said although they’re scared, in MaR5’s honour they will continue entertaining their fans.

“They’re trying to stop us from entertaining our fans but we will not cower, they will not succeed,” he said.

After the funeral, the mourners gathered at Mabopane Shisa Nyama for an after tears celebration.

Pictured above: Vusi MaR5 was laid to rest on Sunday in Boekenhout, Mabopane