Patrick Shai
Veteran South African actor, Patrick Shai has allegedly committed suicide.
His family confirmed that he passed away on Saturday morning, 22 January 2022.
“It is with great sadness to announce the passing of the veteran actor Ntate Patrick Shai.
“He passed away this morning.
“We sincerely ask you to give the family time to process this painful loss. More details will be shared in due course,” the statement read.
Shai is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself in the garage of his Dobsonville home on Saturday, 22 January 2022.
Shai’s death comes just days after he made headlines for threatening violence towards rapper Cassper Nyovest and his mother.
However, Shai ended up apologising for his remarks following some backlash online, including from Cassper himself.
In his apology video, Shai apologised to Cassper for his strong language towards his mother.
Shai said he should have known better as an older person and profusely apologised to the rapper for using vulgar language.
“My apologies, I humbly, from the bottom of my heart, apologise for having used such strong language towards your mom.
“I apologise from the bottom of my heart, please forgive me and forgive me South Africans. I am regretting every bit of the last sentence,” he said.
He boasted an illustrious career, having starred in several hit shows, including Soul City, Generations, Zero Tolerance, and the SABC 2 comedy Moferefere Lenyalong. One of his most recent roles was Jacob Moloi on 7de Laan, where he starred alongside actress KB Motsilanyane as her father, between 2017 and 2020.
Shai was also an advocate against gender-based violence. Shai has been open about his history as an abuser and how it has impacted his relationship with his family.