Patricia Majalisa escapes death
Patricia Majalisa
By Daniso Sikhupha
One of South Africa’s most successful musicians Patricia Majalisa survived death when she was hijacked by armed criminals who got away with her BMW, police in Johannesburg have confirmed.
The mischievous hijackers who drove miles with her at the back of the car before dumping her off also insisted she sings for them one of her popular songs, Chomi Yam.
Majalisa, one of the leading artists behind the popular sound of 1980s bubble gum music, will not forget the experience of being hijacked at the weekend.
She shot to fame in the early 90's when she released her solo album Witch Doctor. She had been a member of the successful all girl group Dalom Kids. Witch Doctor went on to sell over 100 000 units rivaling her stablemate and pioneers of township pop, Splash.
The hijackers who seized the song bird at a garage in Yeoville forced the musician to sing some of her popular songs before dumping her at an informal settlement in Vereeniging in the Vaal Triangle.
Yesterday she related to a South African newspaper the unfolding drama that traumatised her last Saturday evening.
“I was coming from the Yeoville Gym and had just parked at a garage when two men suddenly pointed guns at me and forcibly pulled me out of the driver’s seat, put me on the back seat and drove away.
“They commanded me to keep my head down. I was helplessly pleading with them to leave me behind and take the car instead,’’ she said.
“The worst was yet to follow – the hijackers said they knew me and liked my music and therefore I must sing one of their favourite songs, Chomi Yam, from my previous albums.
“I pleaded that I could not sing because I was traumatised and crying. They insisted that I could sing and that I should not act funny. Afraid and even vomiting, I was forced to sing as they drove,” she said.
Majalisa said the hijackers kept on assuring her that they were not going to harm her because they knew her and respected her music.
“When they dumped me at an informal settlement near Vereeniging in the middle of the night they said that I was going to get my car the following day as they were going to dump it somewhere.
“They said they needed it because they were going somewhere,” Majalisa added.
Residents of the informal settlement came to her rescue and called the police. The police arrived and drove her back to Yeoville. She has since not recovered her luxury BMW and has opened a case of hijacking at the Yeoville police station.
“The car had personal possessions that included my ID, driver’s licence and a firearm licence. I did not have my firearm with me at the time because I had left it at home,” she said.
Last year Majalisa relaunched her music career with the release of Batsha which has sold more than 25 000 copies so far.
Reggae star Lucky Dube was shot dead in Johannesburg in November last in what police said was a hijacking episode.
Additional reporting by the Sowetan