A Legend has fallen...

Since I was 9 years old, Vuyo Mbuli was the first person I saw every morning on my television set.  Almost without fail, he has always been on my television screen first thing in the morning.  I distinctly remember when I was much younger, getting ready for school early in the morning, as I got dressed in the sitting room, in front of the parafin heater, that Vuyo was always talking to me.  Vest first, then the long sleeved white shirt and the green uniform and tie to complete the winter attire, and as I stood there, pulling on my grey socks, Vuyo Mbuli was there talking to me about the issues of this world, issues that back then I simply did not understand.  

You see in my family, as so many will also testify, Morning Live was and will always be, the program you watched in the morning.  Even now in the age of 24 hour news channels, that will give you up to the minute updates on the days leading stories, Morning Live is the business.  With Leanne, Vuyo and Andile “she knows the weather” Masuku, Morning Live was the staple diet, the obvious choice for your early morning breakfast viewing. 

It was my father’s favourite show in the morning.  Even after he retired from teaching and didn't have to get up so early to go to work, without fail my father was up before 6am every weekday to watch his beloved Morning Live.  It was here, for two hours, on most mornings, that we met and fell in love with Vuyo Mbuli.  Even though he was in the SABC studios far, far away in Johannesburg, he joined us all in our living rooms and bedrooms.  He humanised dignitaries, made politicians seem more accessible and with the most genuine spirit, he opened up South Africa to its people.  From small unknown villages, to elaborate celebrations which introduced South Africa to the world, Vuyo Mbuli was there, to guide us through, to ask the tough questions and make you believe that South Africa is truly a great country.

He was the epitome of a breakfast host, friendly and outgoing when he needed to be, earnest and challenging when he was called to be, and for every broadcast, he never forgot to treat all of us millions of South Africans, as though we were just the one person he was speaking to.

I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him, I didn’t know him personally, but man oh man, I feel his loss.  He was a great broadcaster, highly entertaining, dedicated and he and Leanne just fit in so well together.  In fact I remember the time when Tracy Going left Morning Live and Leanne Manas joined the team. Vuyo just made it the easiest transition for all of us.  

I don’t know what it is about the people we see every day on our screens; why we feel so strongly about them when they leave one station for another, when they leave our favourite shows or when they pass on, that we always feel so affected.

  

I heard today how upset so many people that Vuyo’s funeral wasn’t broadcast live on SABC, that instead it was streamed on the internet where millions had no access to it and I understood why so many would be so angry.  Vuyo Mbuli was ours too and for many, watching his funeral on tv would’ve been their last opportunity to pay their respects.

Now that I think about it, who else is going to insist on saying “Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma” every time the President is mentioned in a bulletin? 

As we, mere viewers of one of the SABC’s best programs, grieve over this great loss, and make no mistake this is a great loss for the country, I think about his children, his wife and his parents during this time, because they knew him so very well and this is the very worst time of all their lives.

All in all though, "Sharp Sharp" has made his final exist off our screens and out of the journey of life and all I can do is to echo the words of so many before me "lala ngoxolo Bhut' Vuyo".

Your work here on earth is done.