The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has vowed to keep the legacy of the late Metro FM news reader Pearl Shongwe alive. A memorial service in honor of Shongwe was held at the SABC in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Shongwe was found dead at her apartment in Midrand. She was 35.
SABC Head of Local Production, Lala Tuku says Pearl was too brave to ask questions that too many people were afraid to ask, from gender-based violence to corruption.
“It is our commitment that we should carry and honour your legacy. We should continue to amplify and ask these very difficult questions. We will always use the content to carry your legacy,” Tuku explains.
Simphiwe Ncongwane who presented Morning Live on weekends alongside Pearl Shongwe says her work ethic was unmatched.
“At this point, none of this makes sense to me right now, especially, when her future was so bright, precipitated by her robust work ethic. Who would start their day at 3am every single day? Weekends and public holidays included. Metro FM with the Breakfast Show with Mo Flava and Morning Live on weekends but never slowing down. Pearl was everything to me, she was my TV wife, she was my friend, my baby sister more than just my colleague.”
VIDEO: Remembering Pearl Shongwe
It’s been a week of condolences pouring in while colleagues took to the airwaves to go down memory lane and pay tribute to Shongwe the best way they know how.
A much-loved face on SABC 2, Shongwe was also a finalist in the Miss Soweto pageant in 2011.
With a broadcasting career that spans from 2010, Shongwe moved from news anchoring to Sports presenting with ease.
Colleagues, friends and family gathered at the SABC’s M1 studio in Auckland Park for Shongwe’s memorial.
The funeral service will be held in Diepkloof, Soweto on Saturday. -Additional reporting by Pearl Magubane
