Bride dies on wedding day

FANA HAD waited 17 long years to marry the only woman he had ever loved.

And when she died only an hour before the ceremony, the brave bridegroom refused to cancel the ceremony.

Fana stood alone at the altar and swore undying love to his late wife.

In October, Nana Mkhize (42) first told her future husband Fana Maphumulo (43) that she had dreamt she would die on her wedding day.

Neither of them took any notice of the terrible dream.

But it became a reality when Nana, from G section in Umlazi, south of Durban, died an hour before tying the knot.

She had been admitted to hospital the day before the wedding, complaining of feeling weak.

Hundreds of guests had already arrived at the beautifully decorated wedding venue at Kloof Civic Centre, near Durban to witness Nana's big day on Saturday.

Fana, from Hammersdale, west of Durban stood strong and continued with the wedding ceremony.

He asked a pastor to pray as he placed both rings on his finger.

The couple had been in a relationship for more than 20 years.

They have four kids and had been planning the wedding for many years.

Fana said the wedding plans took so long because they never had enough money to marry.

Yesterday, Fana spoke to Daily Sun about the terrible tragedy that started to unfold on Friday.

"I spoke to her in the afternoon. She was lying in hospital but she promised she'd be with me on our big day," he said.

"I also called her on Saturday morning. She didn't answer but I didn't think anything was wrong because her condition wasn't critical," said Fana.

He said he had hoped his wife would be discharged before the ceremony.

"But at about 9am, an hour before the wedding, I received a terrible call.

"I was told that my wife had died. I was shocked and devastated.

"I cried but I told the pastor to continue with the ceremony anyway."

He said his wife had foreseen her own death.

"In October, she had a dream in which an old woman warned her she would die on her wedding day.

"We didn't take it seriously. We laughed and even joked about it.

"We thought nothing bad could happen because we're a praying family," Fana said.

Their eldest daughter, Samkelisiwe Maphumulo (23), said she lost a loving mum.

"She made sure we never went to bed on empty stomachs. I still can't believe she's dead."

Mfanufikile Mhlongo (43), the best man, confirmed that Fana and Nana could have been married a long time before.

"He worked hard to make their wedding day a success. He worked at car washes and sometimes drove taxis.

"I was glad that their wedding day had finally come but I'm shocked by the way it ended. "Life is not fair." he said.