Monday, 13th November 2006 at 2:31 am

South Africa Mourns Loss of Another Musician

This is the second time in less than a month that South African music fans begin the week on a sad note.

We’ve hardly had time to come to terms with the sudden and shocking loss of singer Lebo Mathosa in a car crash on October 23, and now we’ve lost another amazing South African musician.

Jabu Khanyile, a diabetes sufferer, died on Saturday night in a Johannesburg hospital.

The former vocalist of Bayete, the self-taught, Soweto-born musician also enjoyed an award-winning solo career.

We were privileged enough to see him in concert at a Freedom Day celebration in Washington D.C. in 2004 and were left enthralled by his Afro-jazz performance. With his trademark Masai headband and fly whisk, he managed to bring a piece of Africa to the world.

In fact, he used to say that Westerners should hear about Africa’s problems “from the horse’s mouth, rather than have their own people talk for us”.

“We are the ones who can spread the message with passion,” he said.

We agree. What a shame that we’ve lost such a great ambassador.

Additional reading: South African star Khanyile dies - BBC.