Riky Rick’s brother, Themba Mdludlu, threatens Lungelo Gumede over Riky Rick’s statue: “I hope I Don’t have to take you yo a place you want to be”

Riky Rick’s brother, Themba Mdludlu, threatens Lungelo Gumede over Riky Rick’s statue: “I hope I Don’t have to take you yo a place you want to be”

Following the death of rapper and fashion icon Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado on February 23rd, allegedly by suicide, artists (musicians, writers, painters) have paid tribute to the Sidl’ukotini hitmaker.

Lungelo Gumede, a sculptor from Durban, is one of these artists. The brilliant artist created a wax statue of “Mr Boss Zonke” and displayed it in the Durban Bat Centre.

The Makhado family was not impressed with Gumede’s work, despite the fact that many others were. Riky Rick’s brother, Themba Makhado, contacted the sculptor and requested that the artwork be removed.

Gumede, according to a local magazine, has subsequently demolished the Riky Rick statue. This comes after Themba requested that he take it down once more.

Themba also accused Gumede of profiting financially from his brother’s death, according to the publication. He denied the allegations, claiming that the statue cost him R60 000. He went on to say that it was available for free to admirers of the late artist.

Making the statue cost me around R60 000. It was created out of a passion for Riky Rick and the arts. I was starting to feel threatened, and I couldn’t stand it any longer. So, in order to put an end to the threats, I chose to desecrate the statue. It took me a week to make and a few minutes to ruin. -Says Gumede

A chat between Gumede and Themba was also released as part of the publishing. Themba begs the artist to remove the Riky Rick monument in another WhatsApp message. He also advises him not to compare himself to Big Zulu because, unlike the Umuzi eSandton rapper, he did not have a brother.

Gumede stated last week that he didn’t understand why the family wasn’t satisfied with his homage when rapper Big Zulu produced a tribute song for King Kotini, prompting Themba’s text.

Riky’s brother further said that he hoped he didn’t have to take Gumede to a place he doesn’t want to be; threatening to take legal action against him.