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I knew about the side-chicks‚ I still loved him

Yizo Yizo star’s wife details his tragic last days

Bold. Cheeky. A fighter of justice. That was the Gunman South Africans came to celebrate on hit TV show Yizo Yizo. Fast forward to 2017 and Jabu Christopher Kubheka’s life was so tainted‚ he ransacked the Soshanguve house he shared with his wife‚ looking for any tablets. He crushed and consumed them‚ and then took a tie from his cupboard and hanged himself. His neighbours saw him enter his house on Monday June, 12 at 3pm. His wife arrived home about an hour later and discovered his limp body hanging from the burglar bars.

“I loved him. I knew about his side-chicks. I knew when one women came knocking on our gate. I went outside because the dogs were barking and I found two women. One had a baby on her back. She said Jabu was the father.”

'My heart still bleeds' - Actress Lorraine Mphephi shares heartfelt tribute to Yizo Yizo’s GunmanIsibaya actress Lorraine Mphephi struggled to fight back tears as she spoke fondly of her friend and former colleague Jabu Kubheka‚ who she acted alongside in hit drama series Yizo Yizo. 

Cynthia Khumalo says she was married to the actor for 10 years. At first she was not aware of Jabu’s indiscretions but once she knew‚ she said it didn’t really “bother me“.

“Jabu promised to buy them milk formula and nappies. I didn’t realise what was going on at first but when I did figure it out I ignored it. I loved Jabu. We were happy in our marriage and I accepted that he had other women in his life‚” she told us.

There has been much speculation about the circumstances around Jabu’s death and his reasons for taking his life. Fingers have been pointed at Cynthia with reports that the pair were in an “abusive relationship” and that Jabu was not happily married. There was also talk that he took his own life because he couldn’t afford to attend the funeral of one of his mistresses.

Cynthia has rubbished it all and said now‚ in hindsight‚ she should have realised Jabu was deeply troubled.

“In the days leading up to his death he was very reserved and stayed indoors a lot. He didn’t want to go out and socialise. He just wanted to be alone and he didn’t want to talk.”

Jabu’s wife told TshisaLIVE that the day before he took his own life‚ he was acting out of the ordinary.

“He wanted R3 to buy a few cigarettes. I was surprised because he usually smokes when he drinks but he just wanted some on that day. I walked with him to the spaza shop to buy cigarettes. At night I usually light a candle in my room to pray. It was just past one in the morning when Jabu woke up‚ shaking‚ and lit my candle.”

Cynthia said she had some guilt about not recognising that something was going on.

“There were many signs and I wasn’t able to connect the dots. He kept asking me if I loved him and I said I did. It frustrated him a lot that he couldn’t even afford to pay for DStv. He was losing his appetite and I made an extra effort to cook samp‚ dumplings‚ rice ... anything to try and get him to eat.”

Sunday World reported that a contributing factor towards his suicide was that he couldn’t afford to attend the funeral of one of his side-chicks. Cynthia disputes this and points the finger at community members who‚ she says‚ threatened “mob justice” if Jabu did not contribute to the funeral costs.

“They planned to protest outside the house to demand he pay the burial expenses of his girlfriend. It put a lot of pressure on him‚” she claims.

Despite the tough times‚ her husband being “lost” and numerous other women sharing her man‚ Cynthia said their love never faltered.

“We used to wash the car together. We went to the shops together and our neighbours would call us love birds.”

On the day he died‚ he walked her out and they kissed and hugged goodbye. She left work early because she couldn’t get hold of him. She first went to the loo because she hadn’t had time to go before she left work. The TV and radio was on‚ loud gospel music playing. She looked all over the house and eventually entered their bedroom.

“He was hanging from the security bars. I thought he was joking around. I thought it wasn’t real. When I went closer‚ I realised it was real. It was Jabu. And he was dead.”

 

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