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Uproar over R89k charge for Joe Mafela memorial service

Cape Town - Former Generations actor Mangaliso Ngema took to Facebook on Wednesday to voice his concerns over an alleged R89k memorial cost for the late South African star Joe Mafela.

According to Ngema’s post on social media the Grace Bible Church in Soweto was asking R89k to host Mafela’s memorial service.

"When the head pastor Sono was consulted, he offered a R10k discount. Needless to say, there was no deal this is totally ridiculous. This is supposed to be a "house of God" serving the community. The memorial is now going to be held at the Joburg theatre on Thursday,(sic)" Ngema added.

The actor has since deleted the post and posted an apology saying: "Friends and relatives, I need to make a public apology for posting about the Mafela family and Grace Bible church. I was not appointed spokesperson for the family and neither did I seek consent from them for posting. (sic)."

Speaking to The Juice, Ngema said: "I really put my foot in it with that post. I got so upset when I heard that. I wasn't thinking. It's made it really tough for the family who are currently grieving. I was just upset because I buried a friend of mine a few weeks ago and the church refused to bury him, saying that he hadn't been to church enough and a bunch of other things. It really upset me as an activist and an actor, but I shouldn't have said those things in that post. "

The Juice also reached out to Grace Bible Church several times for comment but had not received any feedback by the time of publishing this article.

The Juice also reached out to several members of Joe's family who said that they were unaware of a R89k cost asked for by Grace Bible Church. Mafela's memorial service will take place on Thursday at 11:00 at the Joburg Theatre.

The beloved South African actor died tragically on Saturday following a motor vehicle accident.

READ NEXT: Details of Joe Mafela's memorial service confirmed

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