Family friends and colleagues congregated at the Amanzimtoti Civic Centre Hall, KwaZulu-Natal, on Wednesday, March 8, to celebrate the life of Chef Lentswe Nicholas Bhengu.
As the funeral service proceedings kicked off, Bhengu’s two siblings Swankie Mafoko and Itumeleng Dlamini-Mafoko took to the podium to give chilling details leading up to the sudden passing of their beloved brother.
In response to the recent questions around Bhengu’s “short illness” and subsequent passing, his sisters stated that the family decided to shed light on the turn events prior to Bhengu’s untimely death.
“So we are here to try to answer the question, ‘what happened because we all know Lentswe was healthy until he was no more’,” said Dlamini-Mafoko before handing the mic over to younger sibling with Mafoko.
“The retelling of the events of my brother’s demise has been extremely hard for me. Please bear with me if I stumble along the way,” said Mafoko.
“Three weeks prior, my brother complained about a stomach bug. He vomited a lot. He was having a hard time keeping food down.
“Fast forward to Tuesday, exactly seven days ago, I spoke to him that morning, and he mentioned that he was not feeling well.”
The sister explained that Bhengu had developed back pain, which led to him seeking the professional help of a physiotherapist.
“That day, he had a 12 noon appointment with his physiotherapist and the session went well.
“Later on, I went to see him at home and I found him lying down. The night before, he had had stomach pains.
“He had been vomiting. Lentswe insisted on getting a drip because every time he felt he was tired, he would get an IV drip to boast his energy.
“It was not long before he started to feel numb in his feet and by then my other brother, who was also there at the time, decided that we must take him to the hospital.
“We called an ambulance, and it never came, and by that time he had broken into a sweat.
“He was hyperventilating. He was in a lot of pain. As he walked towards the door, he collapsed because his feet were giving in. He said, ‘this ambulance must come, I can’t do it’.”
Mafoko went on to explain that Bhengu had three seizures that day.
“His fist had locked. His eyes were rolled back. He was unresponsive. We thought we had lost him at that time.
“That was the scariest thing my baby brother had ever witnessed.”
She said that while waiting for the ambulance, they ordered an Uber driver, but the driver refused to take him to the hospital and he left.
After the Uber driver left, a relative eventually came and helped them take him to hospital.
“At this time, Lentswe was in and out of consciousness. At some point, he looked at my brother and said, ‘Bro, I’m going to die.’
“On the way there he seemed fine though he looked like he was in pain, and he thanked all of us.
“And when we arrived at the hospital, he had the last seizure, and that one was hectic. And, at that moment, Lentswe never responded,” Mafoko concluded.
According to the family, Bhengu was later admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), where he died.
Watch the full service below.
Bhengu passed away on February 28 at Sandton Medi-Clinic after a short illness. He was 37 years old.