We thought of you today but that is nothing new. We thought about you yesterday and days before that too. We are still in disbelief that we will never see you again. If the scales were turned otherwise, we would be arguing about who would speak at your birthday party a week from now. But instead, life had other plans. Plans that we were never prepared for. Your sudden departure not only left us shocked but broken too.

Coming to terms with our new reality will most certainly be difficult. A reality of no longer receiving those random calls from you anymore. Calls requesting either of us to cook as you come back from work or the gym. Those SMS’s on either Christmas day or New Year’s Day. You brought so much joy and happiness to our lives. You taught us to be resilient and to fight for what we believe in.

You were as genuine as they come and you never shied away from expressing your true feelings. You lived a life of purpose, truthfulness, and sincerity. You poured so much into our cups and other people’s cups too. We knew the plans you had for your family and yourself. And this was certainly not part of any of them. Well, perhaps ours is to be strong and continue where you left off.

We will miss your laughter, sense of humor, punctuality, and free-spiritedness. As we bid farewell to you Ngubeni our brother, we say thank you for sharing your best years with us, thank you for the lessons, the opportunities, your words of encouragement and always being a dependable friend and brother. Heavens are richer with you there. May you now watch over us as we continue with this journey.

We will forever love you and miss you

Katleho Mokoena, Masego Rampa, Luyolo Somane, Meluleki Khubeka