Cause of Pastor Sipho Kaleni’s death has been revealed

Pastor Sipho Kaleni’s cause of death has been revealed. The 46-year-old former Radio Pulpit presenter and voice of the Crown Gospel Music Awards died on Monday, 1 August, apparently after having been sick for months due to a boil in his armpit.

Awards founder Zanele Mbokazi-Nkambule said the boil became infected and Sipho got seriously ill.

“It started out as a small boil but they say if you don’t treat it properly, the poison gets into your bloodstream. That’s what happened to him,” she said.

“It hit his organs and they tried to flush it with special antibiotics, but it was a complicated issue.

He died in hospital.”

Zanele said the loss was difficult for the awards and her personally.

“Sipho was the engine for 14 years since the crowns started. It’s difficult and we’re not going to try and replace him. You can’t replace his loyalty and commitment. He was my rock and pillar. I could go overseas and know the awards would happen. I knew he would take care of everything.”

His memorial service will be held at AFM KwaThema, Ekurhuleni, on Friday, 5 August, and the funeral will be in Springs on Sunday.