by Thinus Ferreira
The veteran and prolific South African actor and director Patrick Shai committed suicide on Saturday.
Patrick Shai, born Patrick Molefe Shai, hanged himself in the garage of his home in Dobsonville.
"It is with great sadness to announce the passing of veteran actor Ntate Patrick Shai. He passed away this morning," the family said in a statement on Saturday.
"We sincerely ask you to give the family time to process this painful loss. More details will be shared in due course."
Patrick Shai appeared in various series, ranging from Generations to Soul City, Zero Tolerance, Skeem Saam and 7de Laan.
The actor started his career as a dancer, according to Wikipedia, at Safari Ranch with Mzumba African Drama and Ballet, and joined the cast of SABC1's drama series Soul City in 1994.
In 1995 he wrote and acted in the film Hearts & Minds and appeared as the character of Christmas in the BBC mini-series Rhodes in 1996.
Other TV series he appeared in, include Noah's Arc, Moferefere Lenyalon and Hola Mpinji, all on SABC2, Zone 14 and Uzalo on SABC1, as well as Isidingo and the competition show I Love South Africa.
Other TV series he appeared in ranged from Screenplay, Jacob's Cross, MMG Engineers, Mission Top Secret, The Principal, Yizo Yizo, Behind the Badge, Hillside, Life is Wild and Chandies.
Most recently he was Phasha in Mzansi Magic's The River and in e.tv's Ashes to Ashes telenovela he appeared as Selogilwe "Selo" Namane.
Patrick Shai's extensive filmography also includes appearing in the movies A Place for Weeping, Red Scorpion, Blind Justice, Diamond in the Rough, The Last Samurai, Schweitzer, The Sheltering Desert, Taxi to Soweto, Cry, the Beloved Country, Danger Zone, Inside, Stray Bullet, La ferme du crocodile, Fools, The Place of Lions, The Gates of Cleveland Road, The Bone Snatcher, Critical Assignment, Zulu Love Letter, Discreet, Life, Above All, The Bang, Bang Club and Gog' Helen.
He appeared on stage in the play Sophiatown that toured globally.
In 2019 Patrick Shai was shot 11 times in his neck, back, legs and arms by the South African police when he took part in public protest action in Dobsonville, Soweto over disconnected electricity.
In 2016 Patrick Shai's wife Masechaba spoke about the decades of emotional and physical abuse she had suffered and how she had lived in fear of her husband and how it started when his career took off.
"Fame got to him and he turned into a monster. He became a monster I feared daily. He started attending A-list events and would come home drunk at night."
She said Patrick Shai changed after he took the role of an abuser in SABC1's Soul City in 1997, and changed his abusive lifestyle after he started to see himself and his damaging behaviour in the character, and went for counselling.
Patrick Shai eventually started a non-governmental organisation called Khuluma Ndoda to help abusive men and appeared in a "Brother for Life" TV commercial speaking out about abuse.
The couple filed for divorce several times but never fully went through with it.
In a 2018 TV interview Patick Shai said "I'm a reformed perpetrator in gender-based violence. I've put my wife through a whole lot of things. I'm saying if I could change and become this person that I am today, you too can."
In mid-2014 Patrick Shai was one of the 16 actors who embarked on a strike at Mfundi Vundla's Generations, demanding better actors' rights and compensation. The cast eventually got fired.
In a 2018 interview with Afternoon Express, Patrick Shai said "I discovered that the fire in me - as a kid who threw stones in 1976 - who inhaled tear gas, who then joined and formed a group of four of us who were in a quartet gospel group - because we were all politicised by the black consciousness movement."
"I realise now there was a purpose in God plugging me in there so that I can bring out that which I wanted to bring out through revolution - throwing stones - but I can do it through the arts."
The SABC in a statement on Saturday said that the South African public broadcaster "is deeply saddened by the passing of Ntate Patrick Shai. His immense contribution to the entertainment industry will never be forgotten".
"It is with great sadness that the SABC has learnt of the untimely passing of veteran actor Patrick Shai. Patrick Shai is known by many as Nkwesheng, the character he played on the iconic SABC2 drama series Bophelo Ke Semphekgo."
"He also appeared on SABC dramas such as Zone 14, Soul City, Moferefere Lenyalong, Skeem Saam, 7de Laan and most recently Uzalo where he spoke out about gender-based violence (GBV) in the storyline involving Nosipho."
"Patrick Shai appeared in numerous feature films and he has made an immense contribution to the arts. His dedication to his work will be sorely missed."
■ If you or someone you know needs help with suicide, anxiety or depression, call the South African Depression and Anxiety Group's 24-hour helpline at 0800 456 789 or 011 234 4837 or the Whatsapp chat number 076 882 2775, the Suicide Crisis helpline at 0800 12 13 14, or Lifeline SA at 0861 322 322.
