JOHANNESBURG – South African veteran actor Patrick Shai has died after committing suicide.
He was 36.
His family confirmed the news, saying Shai passed away on Saturday morning.
Speaking to Channel24, Kopano Shai confirmed that the actor and activist died by suicide on Saturday.
“It is with great sadness to announce the passing of veteran actor Ntate Patrick Shai. He passed away this morning (22nd January 2022),” said a statement released by the family. The family has requested privacy and time to process the painful loss.
The award-winning actor appeared on numerous stage plays, feature films and television productions like 7de Laan and most recently The River.
The actor recently penned an apology to Cassper Nyovest for using vulgar language that involved the rapper’s mother following backlash from social media and gender-based violence (GBV) organisations.
This as a video of Shai challenging Nyovest circulated on social media in which he challenged the musician to a boxing match.
In his apology, the actor said the intention was to challenge him to a public engagement that would lead to an exhibition fight in the hopes of bringing issues of GBV to a higher platform.
The rapper is known to initiate boxing matches with prize money as high as R100,000.
Shai is survived by his wife and two children.
