Two years after the tragic death of South African actor Mpho Sebeng, media personality and creative entrepreneur Tsholo Rabotsho has opened up about how grief keeps reshaping her days—while also revealing that the love she still feels for her late friend hasn’t gone anywhere.
Key takeaways
- Tsholo shared a personal reflection on how grief can feel unpredictable, even long after a loss.
- In her post, she described sudden triggers that bring her back to the moment of Sebeng’s passing on 5 May 2024.
- She said some details from their final time together are starting to blur, leaving her emotional and conflicted.
- One specific memory she still holds onto is spending hours with him at Guilt & Co.
- She admitted she can’t bring herself to watch his shows, even though they remain one of the few physical reminders that he was real.
- She ended with a direct question to Sebeng about what happens to all that love after someone is gone.
A grief that returns in everyday moments
Taking to Instagram, Tsholo wrote in a deeply vulnerable tone about the way mourning doesn’t follow a straight line. She compared her grief to a scab over a wound—something that signals healing, yet can still be pulled at and reopened without warning.
She explained that there are days when she almost forgets it’s there, only for an ordinary routine to suddenly snap her back in time. She described the feeling of putting on a jersey and having the fabric catch on the scab, which then sets off the bleeding again—an image meant to capture how memories can flare up at inconvenient moments.
For Tsholo, those jolts can happen during early-morning runs, while preparing breakfast, or even when waking up in the middle of the night. The grief, she suggested, shows up quietly in daily life—then hits with full force.
Back to 5 May 2024
Even as time passes, Tsholo said sudden reminders still carry her straight back to 5 May 2024, the day Sebeng died. She admitted that she once believed they had more time than they did, calling that belief “stupid.”
She also shared how emotionally difficult it has become to hold onto certain specifics from their last moments together. As memories of their final lunch begin to fade, she said she feels “deeply embarrassed” by how much she can no longer recall—down to the conversation, the outfits, and even the weather.
In her tribute, Tsholo noted that if she had known it would be their last time together, she would have taken “every single thing” with her.
Yet amid the fading details, one moment still stands out clearly: the pair spending hours at Guilt & Co., staying in conversation even though both of them had other responsibilities to attend to.
The legacy he left behind
Tsholo also reflected on the influence Sebeng had beyond his own career, describing him as someone who continually encouraged the people around him to chase their dreams without fear. She connected his character to the person she became as a result of knowing him.
She wrote that he would have loved “Brunch With Tsholo,” but she emphasized that he would have loved even more the version of her that the show helped bring forward—someone who, in her view, had every reason to hold nothing back in a world that tells people to do exactly that.
Struggling to watch his work
One of the hardest parts of Tsholo’s tribute was her honesty about how she still can’t watch Sebeng’s performances on screen. Even though his shows remain among the few tangible proofs that he existed, she said the viewing experience still feels impossible.
She wrote that she can’t watch his shows, yet they’re the only physical evidence she has—adding that it helps confirm she isn’t imagining the person she lost.
She closed the post with a question that many people who grieve can relate to: “Where does all this love go, Mpho Sebeng?”
His career and the circumstances of his death
Sebeng was celebrated for standout roles in productions including Ring of Lies and Savage Beauty. He died in a car accident in May 2024, and his passing reverberated across South Africa’s entertainment industry.
In the wake of his death, many people remembered him not only for his acting talent, but also for the warmth he brought to others, his drive, and his generosity toward those around him.
