It was the worst news we could have heard this week, even load shedding couldn't touch the despair of learning that The Queen's Brutus apparently died in a boat explosion on the soapie.

The Khoza family had been searching high and low for any sign of Mzansi's favourite TV malume and Shaka even wanted to consult a sangoma in his quest to find his uncle.

But, yoh, hearts dropped on the social media streets when the search was suddenly interrupted by an announcement that Brutus was dead.

Those close to him paid tribute and remembered him fondly with kind words, while others were in real shock over the news and refused to believe it.

It was all too much for fans of the show, who broke down and shared their disbelief with memes and messages online.