Many got to know him on videos where he would share gems as soul and R&B songs play in the background of his car.
These would make social media rounds mostly on Sundays.
Sundays belonged to Peter ‘Mashata’ Mabuse before they were for lovers.
It was in the early hours of this very same day of the week that he took his last breath on 21 April 2024.
Like many, his family woke up to the tragic news first thing in the morning.
Speaking to Drum on the sidelines of his memorial service held at The State Theatre on Thursday 25 April, Peter’s sister cousin says most of that Sunday morning is still a blur.
“I was still sleeping and suddenly my husband got a call from my niece, so he just handed me his phone. My niece then said to me, ‘please call my mom, she’s been trying to contact you’. I already knew that there was something wrong, but I never thought that it would be Peter.”
Read more | 10 years in jail for tax fraud? Yes, Chef!
After pleading with her niece to tell her what’s wrong, she was told.
“She said Peter was shot then she kept quiet. I was waiting for her to tell me that he’s in a certain hospital. I then asked her if he died, and she said yes. [I blacked out], I don’t even remember what happened after that, everything just became a blur. I went to the bathroom to call Peter, hoping that he’d pick up and tell me that it’s a joke because he was a joker.”
Although the days that followed were heavy for her, she says the voice notes they exchanged in their Whatsapp chats carried her. She adds that the messages of support and condolences have also helped her get through the week.
Of all the memories that she knows will see her through the journey of grief, Valencia says helping Peter through one of his relationship heartbreaks tops it.
“He used to date this girl and it happened that they break up after many years of dating. They had a mutual friend, and that mutual friend was getting married, so he knew that he’d bump into his ex. I suggested that we go together and pretend to be in a relationship. He agreed and we were lovey-dovey on the day to spite the ex,” she laughs.
Though remembered and celebrated as a comedian, entertainer, MC, DJ and father-figure to the TUT students who stayed at the residences that he used to manage, Peter was also a respectful son who loved his mother loudly.
Taking to stage to honour her son, Rebecca Mabuse pulls off a comedy show herself.
Starting off by sharing the chronicles around his birth and naming him Peter, Rebecca tells the service attendees that he was born an ugly baby.
“At eight months old, he was already jumping, dancing and singing with his grandfather. He was this bubbly boy who loved education.”
“When he started comedy, he never wanted me at his shows because he said other comedians are vulgar, so he protected me. I was only introduced to his work recently when Bebe Winans was in the country. He got me a ticket that gave me backstage access so I could meet him. When he was playing his opening set for Bebe, he announced to everyone that it’s the first time I see him perform. I stretched out my arms like Jesus so everyone could see me,” she adds.
Read more | DJ Sumbody taught me a lot of things – A tearful Cassper remembers his ‘twin’ at memorial service
The comic mother says this year, she had gotten closer to her son with Jeffrey Osborne’s recent show being one of the last times they spent quality time together.
Just as people were catching their breaths from laughing at her jokes throughout her eulogy, she makes it clear that she’s not angry at her son’s killer.
“I’m not angry at you, you will be angry at yourself. Like Judas Iscariot, you allowed yourself to be used. I’m this calm because I went to see my son at the mortuary and that hail of bullets seen on his car didn’t get to him. You must see his face, there’s no sign of bullets, my baby’s smiling. They shot him in near his ear, an inch away from the head, his arm and his torso.”
The 46-year-old MC, DJ and university residence manager succumbed to a hail of bullets in Soshanguve, on his way from an all-black event he was hosting in the early hours of Sunday, 21 April 2024. Tributes and heartfelt messages have been pouring in throughout the week.
He will be laid to rest on Sunday, 28 April.
