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Tragic news has reached us on Thursday afternoon, with legendary South African singer and songwriter, and advocate Steve Kekana having been confirmed dead.

Kekana – who was 63-years-old when he passed away – was utterly prolific, having recorded over 40 albums and enjoyed widespread chart success since the 70’s. His hit song Take Your Love was a favourite, but his discography contains dozens of other popular tracks. He lost his sight at the age of five and attended a school for the blind in Polokwane, where his gift for music was born.

The Sowetan reported that Xolani Majozi, Kekana’s manager, confirmed the tragic news on Thursday 1 July. It is not clear at this stage exactly what happened, and we will follow up this report with further details when they are forthcoming.

“Yes it’s true, Ntate Steve Kekana is no more. He died in the early hours of this morning and we are waiting for more details from the family,” Majozi said.

“I spoke to his wife and she confirmed that he’s no more. He was fine the last time I spoke to him. I spoke to him last week over the phone and we were having an event around him but had to cancel due to the latest lockdown regulations.”

Born in Gauteng in 1958, Kekana’s career kicked off in 1977 when he released his self-titled album Steve Kekana. He went on to win a plethora of esteemed awards including the South African Music Awards (SAMA) Lifetime achievement award in 2018.

He also completed an LLB and B Juris degree, and was most recently employed as a lecturer of law at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Social media has been flooded with tributes for Kekana over the past hour:- sowetan