SARAH BUITENDACH: Lebogang Khitsane’s memorial drama, QR codes and a birthday Porsche
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I had great, polished plans for what I wanted to write today. I was going to point you in the direction of New York’s reopened Met Museum. Using these pictures ( of it swinging back into operation, I would opine about the power of artwork and the importance of institutions that provide spaces for enrichment and celebrate creativity. It was to be a poetic ode to beauty.
But then I clapped eyes on the eNCA video of acclaimed tombstone entrepreneur Lebogang Khitsane’s memorial, which took place last weekend, and I thought, who am I kidding — this is actually what everyone is talking about.
Because I’m not going to plot spoil, watch it here (, and then agree with me — and more than 300,000 other people — that you are shook, shocked and very entertained.
You might feel, after seeing it, that you’ve inadvertently just glimpsed a vignette from Days of Our Lives or Generations. All that’s missing it the dramatic soundtrack and a lead character possessed by a demon.
Bad jokes about “sands through the hourglass” aside, of course, there are all sorts of serious conversations to be had about family trauma and politics in situations like this — but I’m going to leave those to you.
Rather, let me lead you down a morning rabbit hole about this clearly intriguing man and his work.
Firstly, as they allude to in the news snippet, Khitsane started Bataung Memorial Tombstones ( — the gold standard in totally over-the-top, gargantuan grave markers across Africa. He died last week of renal failure.
Browse the company website and you’ll clock perfectly normal granite slabs etched with simple dedications to lives lost. But that’s not what established the mourning maverick as a household name. For a sense of who Khitsane was, listen to the interview that 702’s Bruce Whitfield did with him in 2017 to start. The link is in this article (
The gravestone Khitsane’s team produced for acclaimed music producer Robbie Malinga is a good example of what bought him fame. Actually, I take that back: in truth, this R500000, 7-ton statue caused such a to-do when it was unveiled, that it had to be redone. The first iteration looked nothing like the man. See this Citizen piece ( for the before statue and TimesLIVE for the vastly improved after ( version.
The monument at actor Joe Mafela’s Westpark Cemetery resting ...
But then I clapped eyes on the eNCA video of acclaimed tombstone entrepreneur Lebogang Khitsane’s memorial, which took place last weekend, and I thought, who am I kidding — this is actually what everyone is talking about.
Because I’m not going to plot spoil, watch it here (, and then agree with me — and more than 300,000 other people — that you are shook, shocked and very entertained.
You might feel, after seeing it, that you’ve inadvertently just glimpsed a vignette from Days of Our Lives or Generations. All that’s missing it the dramatic soundtrack and a lead character possessed by a demon.
Bad jokes about “sands through the hourglass” aside, of course, there are all sorts of serious conversations to be had about family trauma and politics in situations like this — but I’m going to leave those to you.
Rather, let me lead you down a morning rabbit hole about this clearly intriguing man and his work.
Firstly, as they allude to in the news snippet, Khitsane started Bataung Memorial Tombstones ( — the gold standard in totally over-the-top, gargantuan grave markers across Africa. He died last week of renal failure.
Browse the company website and you’ll clock perfectly normal granite slabs etched with simple dedications to lives lost. But that’s not what established the mourning maverick as a household name. For a sense of who Khitsane was, listen to the interview that 702’s Bruce Whitfield did with him in 2017 to start. The link is in this article (
The gravestone Khitsane’s team produced for acclaimed music producer Robbie Malinga is a good example of what bought him fame. Actually, I take that back: in truth, this R500000, 7-ton statue caused such a to-do when it was unveiled, that it had to be redone. The first iteration looked nothing like the man. See this Citizen piece ( for the before statue and TimesLIVE for the vastly improved after ( version.
The monument at actor Joe Mafela’s Westpark Cemetery resting ...