Katlego Sekhu
Louisa Zondo, the mother of the late South African rapper Riky Rick, has released a book, Dearest MaRiky, to honour her son’s life.
Speaking to DJ Sbu on the Hustler’s Corner about the process of writing the book, Zondo said her writing process began when she embarked on climbing up Mount Kilimanjaro. The moving support from the public following her son’s passing inspired her to write. “Maybe that is how I will serve,” Zondo told DJ Sbu.
She was able to complete the book with the help of her partner and her team. Most of the writing was done earlier this year.
“In January 2023, it became clear that a major target just could not be missed, and at that point, I had a good intervention, which was that I worked with a good wordsmith who allowed me to speak to him in a very safe space. He took the structure that I had submitted for the book and got me to speak. By the end of March, the manuscript was done.”
Zondo knew her son was doing well in his career; however, she was not aware of his influence until his passing in February 2022.
“That’s when I sat back and said, wow. He had the effect of building us an enormous family. I saw the people who were feeling the grief from the loss of his life, and I had to console them. It was people in person and on social media. I was aware that he was successful, and I was grateful at that time.”
On Riky dying by suicide
Riky Rick died by suicide on February 23, 2022. Speaking about her loss, Louisa Zondo says the loss was “devastating” for her as a mother.
“There is something that happens to the mother. As mothers, we carry with us this beautiful tag of being the caregivers and nurturers of the children that come to this earth through our bodies, or the children we commit to being mothers to. We shape their lives through the way we go through life, says Zondo.
“I go through a lot. There is a huge sense of guilt and sadness about not having been able to hold my child so that the end could have been different. That’s a reality, and yet when we allow ourselves to walk with that, to be held by others in that place where that sense of deep guilt and not being able to do what a mother needs to be done.”
Throughout her grief, she has had people who have shown her support.
“The path of walking with those who have been through a similar experience and making sense of it. And formally going into psychosocial therapy and staying in it really helped me land on the truth. The truth about it is that Rikhado lived. He created that legacy, which he says must be something that others can build on. To be able to see this legacy and inspiration was very important, but I had to heal through a lot,” she said.
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