Rasta Shows Up At Wicknell And Lulu Funeral — The Painter Who Has South Africa In Stitches
Rasta The Artist has made it to Wicknell and Lulu Chivayo’s funeral, and you already know South Africa is watching with one eye closed.
The Bulawayo-born painter is famous for portraits that sometimes look nothing like the person — the man can paint Desmond Tutu and you get Patrice Motsepe, paint Cyril Ramaphosa and Twitter crashes. Leanne Manas once asked, “Who is the lady in the picture?” after he painted her.
But love him or hate him, Rasta always shows up. Funeral, memorial, national event — he is there with canvas and courage. He may miss the face, but he never misses the moment. And that’s why SA can’t stop laughing, sharing, and secretly loving him.
His real name is Lebani Thaka David Sirenje, born around 1982 in Killarney, Bulawayo and raised in Pumula township. His father was Mozambican and his mother is from Plumtree.
His grandmother Maisa Mhlanga nurtured his talent from a young age, using his drawings of animals and flowers on handcrafts for sale. He started selling sketches to classmates at Ingwegwe Primary School and Magwegwe Secondary School and has been painting professionally since 1998.
He rose to fame painting South African public figures including Desmond Tutu, Patrice Motsepe, Kaizer Motaung, George Bizos and Genius Kadungure. Despite criticism over accuracy, he built a large following — over 32,000 followers on Twitter.
In June 2022 he held his biggest solo exhibition at Museum Africa in Newtown, Johannesburg, showcasing about 600 paintings including portraits of Winnie Mandela, Julius Malema, Queen Elizabeth II, Riky Rick and Nelson Mandela.
