17 Jul 2021

The legendary musician, Tshepo 'The Village Pope' Tshola, has died at the age of 68. He died on Thursday due to COVID-19 related illness.

Tshola whose hit list consists of tracks such as Shine Your Light, Nonyane, Ntate and Holokile, among others, had a spanning career of over 40 years.

Musician, Socca Moruakgomo, said the icon’s contribution to music industry in Botswana was unmeasurable. “Botswana was his second home and he worked a lot with Batswana artists,” said Moruakgomo.

Moruakgomo indicated that The Village Pope’s passing was devastating because they were working on a project to tour Southern Africa in a quest to sensitize youths on the dangers of drugs and substance abuse.

He said they were working on a Hit to be Sober project, which was to show youngsters that it was cool to not use drugs.

Moruakgomo noted that musicians were influencers in their own right, hence this project. Just last week, Moruakgomo said he was in talks with Tshola regarding the music relevant for the tour.

Other music industry players also paid tribute to Tshola. “Words fail me. Rest in peace Bra Tshepo. You live through your music, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with you. Thank you for that blessing I will forever hold it dear to me,” stated music promoter, Zenzele Hirschfeld.

Seabelo Modibe noted “Shine your light…into my life.” While another music promoter Fiftytwo Letshwiti said ‘rest well Ntate Tshepo, it was great to have worked with legends like you.’

Meanwhile, another music icon Pat Shange also passed but cause of death was unknown. Shange was popular with hits in the 1980s like Sweet Mama, Shayile Time, Anytime Babe among others. Ends