‘He stole our hearts — now he’s gone!’: Social media erupts as SA mourns Presley Chweneyagae, 40

Presley Chweneyagae

Johannesburg – South Africans have taken to social media to pay tribute to acclaimed actor Presley Chweneyagae, who passed away at the age of 40.

Chweneyagae’s death was announced by his agent on Tuesday.

Fondly known as ‘Cobrizi’ or ‘Mokwepa’, Chweneyagae rose to international fame for his lead role in the Oscar-winning film Tsotsi, which brought South Africa its first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006.

“It is with profound sadness that we confirm the untimely passing of one of South Africa’s most gifted and beloved actors, Presley Chweneyagae, at the age of 40,” the MLASA artist agency said in a statement on its website.

It did not give the date or cause of death.

Presley was a “powerful and authentic voice in African cinema” and his career spanned theatre, television and film, it said.

In his most famous film, Chweneyagae plays a “tsotsi” – a colloquial term for thug – who tries to do the right thing when he unwittingly carjacks a vehicle with a baby in the backseat.

The 2005 film is based on a novel by acclaimed South African playwright Athol Fugard who died in March this year at the age of 92.

“It’s a story about hope, it’s a story about forgiveness, and it also deals with the issues that we are facing as South Africans: AIDS, poverty and crime,” Chweneyagae said in 2006 as South Africa celebrated the Oscar.

“But at the same time, it could take place anywhere in the world,” he said.

Chweneyagae was born in 1984 in the small North West Province town of Mafikeng and joined drama classes at the age of 10, his agents said.

He also had roles in the blockbuster “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” (2013), based on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, and South Africa’s award-winning television series “The River” (2018).

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