Lifestyle

An Entertainment Industry Tribute To Thusoski

Iconic radio presenter, Thuso Letlhoma passed away last week PIC: KEOAGILE BONANG
 
Iconic radio presenter, Thuso Letlhoma passed away last week PIC: KEOAGILE BONANG

Local entertainers took to Facebook to pay respects to the iconic radio presenter of Masa a sele program on RB1. 

“Mogaka wa bagaka!Ke mongwe wa batho ba ba ntirileng se ke leng sone o ne a mpitsa mmadiKk, nako nngwe re le ko Lerala e le Mc ke ha a nthaa a re 'O mosaditia mmadiKk o tsholeditse serodumo sa lwapa laeno le sa motse wa Lerala '  erile pele ga dithopho badiragatsi  re  tswa go dumedisa Tautona ko state house ka kopana le Michael Kaote mme a ntekodisa ha Mokwepa a sa tsoga, mme ke ne ka ya go mo lekola ko Marina ha ke tsena ke ha a re 'moriti wa gago o mphodisitse mmadiKk a bua  ka smile sa motho a solohetsa gore e tlaa re mo malatsing a a sa fediseng pelo o tlaabo a boetse tirong, mme ka dithapelo tsa Batswana Mokwena a tsoga a bo a boela tirong erile ka di 20 Dec 2019 a ntshwara ka mogala ke le mo tseleng ke lebile Maun a re 'mmadiKk ke golotswe mo sepatela ebile ke mo dikantorong 'pelo ya me ya tlala boitumelo jaaka ngwana a bona letswele ka leboga Modimo, jaanong ga ke itse gore go ne ga senyega ha kae jaanong Mokwena o re siile mme legale ke thato ya Modimo kere robala ka kgotso Kwena ya madiba,” celebrated musician Charma Gal wrote on her Facebook page.

While Jazz songbird Nnunu Ramogotsi added: “He used to call me Tsobe tsobe, whatever it meant, I liked it made me laugh all the time. Sometimes he would call me Monunuzela mununuzela’ waitse Thusoski bathong my brother. You fought a good fight for a long time. Rest in eternal peace Thuzola’ we will always remember you with your good heart. Some of us are making it in the industry because of your total endless support in Radio. We love you forever.”

The most decorated musician in Botswana, Vee Mampeezy also took to social media to state that Letlhoma was their big brother in the music industry.

Vetereran music promoted Seabelo Modibe also posted on social media stating that he had a very funny relationship with Thuzoski as Letlhoma was popularly also known. He said one of the things Letlhoma was famous for is giving friends and colleagues nicknames.

“He used to call me 'Babatona' while I called him 'Letlapa or Kakapa'. The name 'Kakapa' actually stuck on him but I later realised many people also call him 'Kakapa'. One of the things Thuso was good at was names of behind the scenes people on production of songs or records. Yes he was a good journalist but Thuso was a walking library of music, he knew many artists and bands. He could tell you the entire production team of an album. One artist who Thuso knew his production team very well was Michael Jackson. One period I enjoyed very much was when he used travel with President Mogae. Monna we used to chow USD Per Diems. Kene ke mo tsaya ha Kgale ebe re tsena ha Satchmos/Grand West re thuga madi. Modibe said if he was given 15 minutes he could share more about Thuso the latter never pushed any of his artists but he made many careers.

Another music promoter Gilbert PPWaPimp Seagile said they used to call each other Mozuru during fun times using teasing phrases when Letlhoma was his neighbour back then at Kgale View in Gaborone. “E khibitswana e kae meaning (black label) fa re kopana ko mafelong a ikhetsho bodutu. You will be always with me Thuzoski amozuru. Rest in peace,” Seagile posted on social media.

Local veteran rapper Scar said Letlhoma was at his last show at Club Lagos (Block 8) early this year.

“Pogiso (Event Organiser) told me where he was as I was running to the exit after the set. I hadn't seen him in a long time so Drak and me detoured to where he was. I was actually surprised he was wheelchair bound. I think I heard him do a news bulletin not too long after so I did not know the extent of his illness. He was veteran morning radio host who is responsible for my star rising in the most rural parts of BW at a time when RB1 really didn't have to help. We were happy with RB2 but Thuzoski and Brooks (Monnaaanoka- another departed RB1 popular presenter) saw the future of BW music and they hyped me up every time I saw them. They continued to give me praise and encouragement when I got into broadcasting and that's when I started taking myself seriously. Rest in Power big homie. PS: My nicknames depended on the time and place,” read the metlholo hitmaker’ s post on social media.

Letlhoma was born on April 15, 1972. Thusoski or Kwenkwetla as he was popularly known in the airwaves had been struggling with leukaemia before his demise.