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Vendaboy Poet kneels down before President Cyril Ramaphosa (third from left) after praising him during a function held in Thohoyandou last weekend. Photo supplied.
Entertainment Date: 21 December 2023
Local poet Lutendo Evens Mugagadeli, widely known as Vendaboy Poet, captivated his fans during a function at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday, 16 December, attended by his idol, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Clad in his trademark Venda traditional attire, Vendaboy knelt before the president, praising him, before Ramaphosa addressed the nation. The audience showered applause and cheers for the poet from Hanthabalala as he left the stadium, leaving everyone in awe.
The multiple-award-winning poet, who began his poetry career in 2008, is multilingual and recites his poems in various languages, such as Sepedi, Khelobedu, Tshivenda, Tsonga, Isizulu, Isixhosa, and English. He has released six albums, with the latest, “Lwendo”, launched in October 2022.
This was not the first time he had met and praised the president in person. In 2018, Vendaboy released a hit single dedicated to President Ramaphosa. Limpopo Mirror publicised his wish to meet the president, and his dream became a reality when he performed his poem to the president aboard a flight from Durban to the OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg.
Vendaboy expressed his excitement about meeting the president for a second time and the opportunity to perform before him again. “It is one of those rare opportunities one gets in life. Reciting before a president twice is pure luck. This day will go down in history as one of my highlights this year. I got the chance to give courage to the president. I assured him we are fully behind him and that we are aware of the challenges his administration is encountering. I was so excited to see him smiling again.”
He is looking forward to an even brighter 2024, filled with opportunities. “This was indeed a great year for me. Besides performing for the president, I also performed at the BRICS Summit that was held in Sandton in August. The cherry on top was when I was awarded one of the top 100 South African Shining Stars during a function that was held at the Sandton Gautrain Hotel last week (13 December). I still have several bookings left for this year. As a product of poverty and having grown up without parental care, meeting the first citizen of the country twice is a great achievement and honour for me. All in all, 2023 was a great year for me,” he said happily.
Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019. He currently writes on a freelance basis, covering human rights issues, court news and entertainment.
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