South African rally champion Gugu Zulu died while climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. Zulu and his wife Letshego were part of the Trek4Mandela expedition. South African rally champion Gugu Zulu died while climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. Zulu and his wife Letshego were part of the Trek4Mandela expedition.
Johannesburg - Six weeks ago, renowned racing driver Gugu Zulu was excited about the prospect of conquering Mt Kilimanjaro for the first time.
He was well aware of the physical toll it takes to climb the highest mountain in Africa, but he wasn't perturbed. There was an extra motivation for Zulu and his wife Letshego to summit the mountain – contributing to a selfless cause, an ideal espoused by the man they were honouring through the climb, Nelson Mandela.
“We are probably the fittest among the climbers even though we have never climbed a mountain before. The higher you go, the more susceptible you are to altitude sickness. If you slow down and let your body catch up, you can recover,” Zulu said, speaking to the Daily News’s sister paper, the African Independent, in the run-up to #Trek4Mandela.
The initiative was aimed at raising funds in support of the #Caring4Girls sanitary pad distribution programme to more than 350 000 underprivileged girls.
But early on Monday, on the day the country celebrated Madiba’s legacy of selfless giving – Zulu met his untimely death trying to conquer Kilimanjaro.
He had been at the Kibo base camp, which is the last camp before summiting Kilimanjaro, when, at about 5pm on Sunday, he developed flu-like symptoms, according to Neeran Naidoo, spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“The doctor who examined him put up a drip. At about 9pm, his symptoms hadn’t changed and it was decided that he and his wife wouldn’t continue and that he be taken down the mountain,” he said.
Then began the descent, with Zulu carried on a stretcher by four rescue team members. Also by his side were three porters, his wife and the expedition leader, Richard Mabaso.
Zulu was found to have problems breathing, and his life ebbed away. He and his team of escorts had reached the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi town around 4am on Monday when he died.
The foundation said medical teams did everything they could.
In the weeks leading up to the climb, Zulu had been upbeat, taking to social media to let his followers track his progress up the mountain. His last Facebook post on July 16 partly read: “Made it through day 2. My wife is doing fabulous, she has even learnt the local language.
"Am having flu-like symptoms and struggling with the mountain but taking it step by step! Today we managed to see our destination and our camp is literary (sic) above the clouds.”
Mabaso, the founder of #Caring4Girls, an organisation that distributes sanitary towels to underprivileged girls, explained the physical hurdles climbing the mountain.
“There are always people with symptoms when you get to base camp. Whether it’s nausea or headaches… we always drink water and take other precautions. But some things are going to happen regardless.”
Mabaso said a devastated Letshego was resting. He recalled the tender last hours the self-labelled “Adventure Couple”, who had been together for over 15 years – spent together. “She was amazing – she was always by his side when they took him down.”
In Instagram posts before the climb, Letshego posted a picture with the now eerie words, “Mountains are calling and I must go”, with a backdrop of a mountain with pockets of snow.
Zulu was part of a group of 43 celebrities and corporate climbers, including Gerry Elsdon, Leanne Manas and banking chief Cas Coovadia.
Mabaso said everyone else who planned to summit was fine and that the rest of the group had continued to summit and were due back at 6pm on Monday night..
Mabaso said Sibusiso Vilane, the expedition leader, and the rest of the hikers returned to base camp between 5pm and 8pm, and heard the tragic news.
Some of them had been in contact with family and friends during intermittent cellphone signals and returned to the base camp, where the news was confirmed.
Mabaso said they were still waiting for an official cause of death from the hospital.
Zulu’s tragic death has sent shock waves across the country and the world. Tributes continued to pour in from all corners of the country, with President Jacob Zuma saying he was “deeply saddened by this tragic and painful incident…”
The ANC, DA, EFF and Pan Africanist Congress also sent messages of condolences to his family.
Zulu, 38, is survived by his wife and one year-old daughter, Lelethu.