Riky Rick’s mother shares how she dealt with his death

JOHANNESBURG – Louisa Zondo, the mother to South Africa’s beloved late rapper, Rikhado Makado, known to many as Riky Rick, has taken to pen and paper to channel her grief and healing after tragically losing her son.

Zondo took the first small steps to facing her grief and found herself speaking to her son and the pain of losing him in a series of letters. In expressing that love, she tells the story of her own life and the experiences that shaped her through her memoir titled Dearest MaRiky – A Mother’s Journey Through Grief, Trauma and Healing. The book will be in stores from 24 May.

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While spending her second Mother’s Day without Riky, Zondo told listeners during a radio interview that the grieving process that took her to many places, including writing to communicate with her son.

“The book was a way to communicate with Rikhado; to tell him stories that I could not tell him while he was alive. It was also a huge healing process for me. I also realised that in sharing my story I might contribute to freeing others to also share their own stories of grief.”

Riky Rick’s mother shares how she dealt with his death

Zondo also shared the toughest parts of her life to confront while writing the book.

“Writing about the 23rd of February 2022 was the toughest part about this memoir. As you can recall, it was the day we learnt of Rikhado’s passing. But there were other parts that were challenging, including revisiting my own personal experiences and early childhood, and soothing the young Louisa going through the pain of loss.”

Asked what she would say to mothers going through grief, Zondo said there was no guaranteed formula for grieving, but what saw her through that tough time was being around her grandchildren.

Zondo also shared her fondest moments in seeing Riky Rick perform, enjoying his work as an artist, and revealed that her favourite work by him was the Family Values album.ewn