South Africa's most animated commentator dies at 38
NEWS: The South African rugby fraternity has suffered a major blow with the news of Kaunda Ntunja, who passed away at the age of 38 on Monday.
According to media reports, Ntunja, the multi-award-winning rugby broadcaster is believed to have succumbed to Covid-19.
The tragic news was confirmed by his sister, Tando, on social media on Monday.
[NTUNJA FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE PASSING OF KAUNDA NTUNJA] Cc @avee01, @SuperSportTV Email: [email protected] for all media and related queries. pic.twitter.com/g8wKRLQ0uL
— Tando Ntunja (@tandontunja) July 20, 2020
Ntunja was regarded as one of the most animated and popular commentators in South African rugby and was a household thanks to his work as an isiXhosa commentator.
As a player – he played flank – Ntunja captained the SA Schools side in 2000 and was a part of the Free State Cheetahs side that won the Currie Cup in 2005.
“Kaunda left an indelible mark on the local rugby landscape and we will miss seeing his broad smile and hearing his voice at our rugby matches in future – this is a tragic loss, he left us too soon,” said Mark Alexander, SA Rugby President.
“Our thoughts are with the Ntunja family and all of his friends and colleagues for this terrible loss – the South African rugby community is much poorer without Kaunda Ntunja,” concluded Alexander.
🎙 One of the voices of rugby in South Africa has passed away.
😢 RIP Kaunda Ntunja.
pic.twitter.com/O4Q8emJ3SaADVERTISEMENT— Sport4U (@SportSA4U) July 20, 2020
Lions also paid tribute to the ‘big rugby figure’.
The Johannesburg franchise released a statement, which read: “The beloved commentator gave rugby a voice in his own Xhosa mother tongue and the rugby community will be much poorer,”
“His voice will be dearly missed. What a sad day to lose such a big rugby figure,” said Lions Rugby Chief Executive Officer Rudolf Straeuli.
