Kwaito star Zombo dies after HIV admission

Kwaito star Zombo dies after HIV admission

EBOGO GODFREY NDLOVU AKA ZOMBO: 03 MAY 1979 – 17 FEBRUARY 2008

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By Showbiz Reporter

SOUTH African kwaito star, Zombo, real name, Tebogo Ndlovu, died on Sunday -- just months after telling fans he was skint and battling HIV.

He was 29.

Knowing he was nearing the end, Zombo made a choice few celebrities or high-profile people dare to make in announcing: "I'm HIV-positive".

The once high-profile member of Abashante passed away after 999 boss and singer Arthur Mafokate, reacting to Zombo's public pleas, opened a trust fund to help the cash-starved artist.

At the time of his death, Zombo was living at St Francis Care Center in Benoni on the East Rand. He was admitted to the hospice on Monday last week with the help of Mafokate.

Zombo publicly disclosed his HIV status during an interview with a newspaper early this year. He discovered he was living with the HIV virus last year.

Mofokate was first to arrive at Zombo’s home in Alexandra on Sunday.

Thandi Ndlovu, Zombo’s older sister said: “We loved him as a family and took care of him during his ailing moments. We were all hoping that when he comes back from the hospice he would be better."

Mafokate said: "He would always say 'I need to do many songs just like 2 Pac did, so that when I am no more, my family can still hear me sing new songs, maybe it might help them.' We would laugh about it, but suddenly, it’s happening just as he predicted it.

"He was so funny he would joke just about anything... One classic that everybody knows is that whenever we went past any cemetery or graveyard, he would always say: 'Ahhhhh! The place to be.'

"He was a hard working young man who enjoyed what he did."

The burial is set for Saturday.
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