Eddie Zondi Dies of Heart Attack Aged 47

It was a sad day for the entertainment industry of South Africa as news of the death of veteran broadcaster and radio presenter, Eddie Makhosonke Zondi, filtered through on Monday morning.

Eddie Zondi or Bra Eddie or The President as he was popularly known by his legion of followers, is said to have succumbed to a heart attack at his home in Ruimsig, west of Johannesburg in the early hours of Monday when he started complaining of chest pains and was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. This was confirmed by the manager at Metro FM, Martin Vilakazi, in a statement on air. In addition, the Metro FM spokesman Happy Ngidi who was present at the Zondi home confirmed the death. Eddie, who was 47 at the time of his death, is survived by his wife, Phakamile Zondi.

The death of this media icon was further confirmed by SABC’s Kaizer Kganyago who reported earlier that, on behalf of the SABC, he was confirming the passing on of Eddie Zondi.

Bra Eddie ran a very popular programme on Metro FM called the Romantic Repertoire which aired from 3 pm to 6 pm on Sundays. This was highly popular with listeners of all age groups. Eddie Zondi also produced compilations of four CDs aptly called Zondi’s Romantic Ballads. Many people enjoyed these as evidenced by the response to these compilations on twitter. Many of his fans will remember when their icon was awarded an award for reaching a multi- platinum status for his compilations in a very laid back event in Rosebank, the same event at which the fourth edition of the compilations was launched.

The President also ran another weekday show called the Wake Up Call where he was also well known for playing soft romantic music. In his early days, Eddie Zondi is reported to have run another show which was called Zondi Zone which ran on Sunday evenings.

Many of his followers took to twitter to express their deep sense of loss following the death of their icon. A lot of the Metro FM listeners and admirers of Bra Eddie as a disc jockey were evidently devastated by his passing on. One fan referred to him as a man with a with charm and a bewitching personality who captured every listeners’ heart. His colleague, Paul Mtirara, said he lost half of his soul and wished that it was him who died, not Zondi. “I lost half of my soul, it should have been me, I should have died not Zondi. I’m not sure if I can do this anymore”, Mtirara Tweeted.