Johannesburg - Former African Bank chief risk officer Tami Sokutu, who has died in his sleep, has been hailed as a great intellectual who had empathy for the poor and was committed to improving conditions for them.
Sokutu died in his hometown, Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, on Friday night.
Friend and family spokesman Saki Macozoma said Sokutu had not been well for a while, but a post-mortem would be performed on Monday.
“The police did not suspect foul play,” Macozoma said.
Sokutu sparked outrage last year with comments about people listed as bad credit risks for their failure to repay loans from African Bank.
Among other things, he was quoted as saying, “F*** them, f*** them”, and that he lived with “no regrets”. He said people should not borrow money if they knew they could not repay it.
According to the Sunday Times, Sokutu earned more than R50 million in share options and R35m in pay and bonuses.
He also allegedly boasted about how he raked in his millions, his globetrotting, his six cars and his homes.
His statements came after then-Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus placed African Bank under curatorship after it posted a loss of R3.1 billion in six months, among other problems. Sokutu later resigned.
Macozoma paid glowing tribute to Sokutu on Saturday, describing him as “one of the best intellectuals and scientist with empathy” he had met. He said Sokutu had played a pivotal role in the ANC, especially in the party’s policy discussions around water, water conservation and managing biodiversity.
Before his appointment at African Bank, Sokutu held a number of government positions, including that of deputy director-general of water affairs and forestry.
“In the business world, a lot of people forget the value he contributed at African Bank. Obviously… people associate him with the problems at African Bank, but he made an invaluable contribution to people, especially those in rural areas,” Macozoma said.
Of Sokutu’s controversial statements about borrowers: “That was unfortunate because by the time of that interview, Tami wasn’t well. Even those who published that interview should have taken note that he wasn’t well and that he shouldn’t have been ambushed.”
Macozoma also spoke about how he and Sokutu had attended jazz and classical music concerts.
“He had the qualities of a good, well-educated and cultured South African with empathy.”
Sunday Independent