Soul Brothers give Masondo a moving send-off (gallery)

The group, which dominated the South African music scene for several decades, drove mourners attending the singer’s funeral in Hammersdale, west of Durban, to a frenzy with the rendition of the band’s greatest hit track – Mama Ka Sibongile – a love song released in the ’80s.

Fans, who came out in great numbers, sang along as the Mama Ka Sibongile tunes reverberated throughout the Hammersdale stadium where the funeral was held.

Renowned poet, Mzwakhe Mbuli, described the funeral as an event celebrating Masondo’s life as opposed to “mourning”.

Masondo (67) who started his career doing gigs around the townships of Durban in the 70s, died in the Johannesburg’s Garden City Hospital – where he had been admitted after complaining of exhaustion.

In 1974 Masondo co-founded The Soul Brothers – a group that went on to become a household name within the African continent.

Masondo’s friend Jabu Khanyi, told mourners that the singer – who will be laid to rest at the Hammersdale Cemetery late on Sunday, died of renal failure.