Gospel singer Sechaba Pali is still grieving the death of his wife who died in September last year in a car accident. He has been battling to come to terms with her passing and this will be the first Easter weekend in years he will be spending without her.
TRYING TO HEAL
He tells ZiMoja that grief comes and goes. "Some days I feel okay and have great memories of our love and on other days I break down," he admits. "It has been tough, as she was my pillar of strength." When Nompilo died, Sechaba was in the process of cleaning up his image. He had quit drinking alcohol and slowly worked his way back into the music industry. But he says as much as it has been difficult since her passing, he has not touched alcohol since Nompilo's death and he doesn't plan on doing so. "I want to remain clean and work on my healing." But this is in contradiction to what he said last year December in a TikTok video where he was crying uncontrollably, drunk with his chest bare. He could be heard saying in SeSotho: "You took my wife, I left you alone. You took my father, I left you alone. You took my kids, I left you alone. You see now I'm drunk... God is coming for you."
Sechaba Pali and late wife Nompilo Shabangu Picture: Supplied
EASTER WITHOUT HER
The Easter weekend for the Pali family was a time of visiting family and going to church. "We would drive home together, visit family, cook and visit different churches where we would be invited to sing," Sechaba says. This year, he hopes to have the energy to go to church and continue their tradition as a family. "I am hurt. Losing someone I love and who believed in me is not easy." Sechaba says his wife had a good heart and he is still sad when he thinks about what happened on that day. "I think she wanted to overtake the taxi, but unyathele kakhulu (she accelerated) and the car drifted, and the car threw her outside. She was bleeding through her nose and mouth," he remembers. "When I got out of the car, I had a small limp and hurt my arm but I was okay. The sad part is no one came to help. People just started taking videos and pictures. The ambulance came and took her to Bongani Regional Hospital. They wanted to check us, but I asked they check her first as she looked like she was not okay.
DEPRESSION
Last year, Sechaba opened up about dealing with depression and his struggles in the music industry and said he needed to see a psychologist to deal with some of his issues. "Music was a calling. How did it end up being a curse? It would be much better if I was a tsotsi (thief) in the streets and become whatever I want to become. They killed me, they destroyed me. But one thing I know is that God has a plan and I know I will be fine because when I read the Bible there were people God gave dreams to, but they were thrown in ditches."
