Shakes made a huge impact on most soccer fans – myself included – who admired his breathtaking skills while at the peak of his career with Kaizer Chiefs.
I first witnessed Kungwane’s skills in his first match for Chiefs, against Hellenic on 29 March, 1991. He had earlier played his first match in the Iwisa Charity Spectacular against Sundowns, but the match against Hellenic is the match when he truly announced his arrival in Mzansi.
With Chiefs leading Hellenic 6-0, Shakes received a pass from the touchline. A Hellenic defender came rushing down to close him but, in typical Shakes style, he feigned a cross, the Hellenic defender turned his back on the ball, and SABC cameras were showing us the sky while the ball was still at Shakes’ feet.
The crowd went wild, and the darling of South African football was born.
In 1992 he suffered a terrible knee injury which kept on the sidelines for nine months. But he bounced back and helped Chiefs win the Bob Save Super Bowl and the League title. And since then Shakes never looked back.
At the peak of his career Kungwane was one of kind, with rare skills, something that is missing in South African football these days. But his knee injury denied fans the chance to truly witness his skills, hence he only played two national team matches.
After retiring from football after a spell at Manning Rangers, Kungwane worked for Mpumalanga Black Aces and as an analyst for SuperSport. As an analyst he was always professional and funny when giving his expert opinion.
Kungwane’s passing is a sad loss to many South African football fans.
May his soul rest in peace.