THE late playwright-actor-poet Sol Rachilo was laid to rest at the West Park Cemetery during a Presidency-designated Special Provincial Official Funeral Category Two service on Wednesday afternoon.
A sizable throng of mourners belonging to the arts, journalistic and political fraternities had earlier gathered in the foyer of the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani for a two-part ceremonial service directed by actor Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha and dancer Nomsa Manaka – before the beloved nonagenarian’s send-off around midday.
Rachilo’s funeral came to pass while national flags were flown at half-mast across the province of Gauteng on the day – a directive, along with its declaration as an official category ceremony, from the president of South Africa – which was an acknowledgement of the 94-year-old elder’s lifelong contribution to the arts, as well as his societal standing.
Part of a four-part programme which had commenced with a private service at Rachilo’s home in Mapetla, the Soweto Theatre segment became the focal point of tribute and celebration of his lived life before, as per protocol, parts three and four were conducted by the South African Police Services officers.
Among some high-profile attendees, the Gauteng provincial government was represented by its MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, who addressed mourners in lieu of Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
During a speech in which she expressed heartfelt condolences to Rachilo’s family on Lesufi’s behalf, Diale-Tlabela also thanked the president for granting approval for an official funeral for the departed thespian.
Referring to Rachilo as a giant whose funeral service actually taught her how to speak at a funeral, the young member of the provincial legislature described him as “an organic intellectual embedded in the realities of life” – further averring, “Bra Sol has run a good race – his legacy speaks for himself.”
Pending a programme punctuated by the repeated interlude of Gene Ammon’s Play Me, a wheelchair-bound Abigail Kubheka – a lifelong acquaintance of Rachilo’s – pointed out that prior to his passing, they had been the only two remaining cast members from the 1973 film Joe Bullet.
Sans delving into details, Kubheka candidly lambasted the ‘abuse’ the deceased was subjected to, and stated that “death has no embarrassment.” She concluded by lamenting in a poignant diminuendo: “Sol Rah . . . Sol Rah . . .”
SARS media relations executive, Sandile Memela, who like Kubheka was spontaneously added onto the programme of speakers, described Rachilo in glowing, yet forthright terms.
Like Rachilo, an author, Memela shared: “Bra Sol was the definition of a truly liberated man. He knew who he was – he didn’t seek approval.”
To the collective chuckle of some of the SAPS officers present, Memela further said about his fellow wordsmith: “He didn’t wear expensive suits like Cat Matlala, but he had an aura about him.” He concluded his speech by quoting a 1977 remark by Stephen Biko: “You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can’t care anyway.”
The Soweto Theatre’s Acting General Manager, Didimalang Sole mentioned that they regarded Rachilo – who regularly came by the venue to share some of his skills – as their father. With a tinge of sadness, Sole said: “ Ntate Sol, Soweto Theatre will miss you.”
Also present and included on the roster of speakers were some of Rachilo’s nieces and nephews, as well as his children, Nkosinathi and Banele, who rendered a song and a prayer, respectively – while Rachilo’s two surviving siblings, Sophie and Sam stared solemnly on.
Another speaker close to Rachilo, viz., Belinda Hlaka – from whose Workers’ Museum and Library premises in Newton the elder had a working office – described him as someone who treated humanity with humility and literature, and uttered through sobs: “He was deeply loved by so many people – that is why his passing is so difficult.”
Other notable figures in attendance were entrepreneur Peter Vundla and Sam Mhangwani, the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver recipient and veteran music promoter and founder of the annual Moretele Park Tribute Concert.
Betwixt tributes, the Spirit of 1956 Choir rendered lively music items throughout the programme amidst a setting of a casket containing Rachilo’s remains draped with the South African flag and surrounded by bouquets of flowers and portraits of the deceased in various poses, recorded and contributed by photographer, Siphiwe Mhlambi.
Just before the programme shifted to the part officiated over by the SAPS, co-MC Manaka read the obituary on Rachilo’s life which traced his journey from Pietermaritzburg in the 1930s and relocating to Johannesburg where he initially trained as a social worker, before finding his destiny in the arts when actor friend Ken Gampu initially led him into the purview of theatre doyen Athol Fugard.
After the singing of the National Anthem and the delivery of a eulogy and citation led by SAPS Chaplain Reverend Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Moses Seroka, SAPS pallbearers and a contingent of female officers accompanied the casket to a waiting hearse.
Thereafter, a lengthy cortege – momentarily led by an SAPS brass band and thereafter by a motorcade escort – slowly winded its way towards West Park Cemetery, with traffic backed up around the adjacent Jabulani Mall precinct as curious motorists and pedestrians looked on, on the aesthetic procession.
The ceremonial service – still conducted by SAPS Chaplain Lt. Col. Seroka – concluded with Rachilo’s burial at the cemetery, and included the symbolic handing over of the South African flag to the Rachilo family.
Some of those who knew Rachilo closely described his demise on August 15 – which came as a consequence of burns he had suffered from a fire at his abode the previous day – as sad.
Indeed, tracts of the obituary stated that circumstances of his death oughtn’t be his life’s story – with a defiant sentence declaring: . . . death cannot have the final word here . . .
In the same vein, Manaka had even invoked what her late husband, Matsemela once wrote about death, quoting him thus: ”We do not fear death. The fear of death is the fear of life. The dead are not dead.”
About Sol ‘Sol Rah’ Rachilo
Solomon Rachilo was born in Pietermaritzburg on December 12, 1931 and his family later moved to Alexandra in Johannesburg where he would train as a social worker at Jan Hofmeyr College (where Winnie Madikizela-Mandela also trained) before he’d discover his destiny in the arts after his friend Ken Gampu had encouraged him to audition for a part in an Athol Fugard play.
What began as an audition became a lifetime as Rachilo became part of a remarkable generation of black artists – among them Gampu and Zakes Mokae – who worked around Dorkay House and the Bantu Men’s Social Centre.
His artistic life moved effortlessly betwixt stage and screen as, over several decades, he performed in theatre productions such as No-Good Friday, Sponono, etc., and film and television productions such as Bullet on the Run, Charlie Steel and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, etc.
In 1977 Rachilo founded the Children of Soweto Action Centre Drama Academy through which he created space for young people to express themselves through music, drama, photography and fine art.
A storyteller and cultural visionary, Rachilo taught and mentored many artists into becoming celebrated names themselves. And through the changing seasons of his life, Rachilo remained his own man – refusing to allow the hardship of life to write the ending of his story.
Rachilo, who died aged 94, is survived by his sister Sophie, brother Sam and children, Nkosinathi and Banele.
Image Jacob MAWELA (Sol Rachilo, his son Banele and Abdullah Ibrahim limned strolling along Market Theatre Precinct on a Sunday afternoon.)
