Cape Town - Deputy President David Mabuza will deliver the keynote tribute at a virtual official memorial service in honour of the late minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu.
He died of Covid-19 related complications on Thursday. Mthembu's official funeral was held on Sunday in his hometown of Emalahleni in Mpumalanga.
South Africa’s political heavyweights braved the rain as they paid their last respects to Mthembu.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his eulogy, described Mthembu as an honest man who had never shied from speaking up for what he believed to be right, as well as problems plaguing the ANC.
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“Mthembu was a kind and gentle soul, but when it came to corruption, self-serving leadership, brazen abuse of power, you would see another side of him. He was never deceived by the false smiles and empty promises of those who sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor. He called them out and did not care if they were more powerful than he was,” he said.
Until his death, Mthembu had been the public face and voice of the Cabinet in the fight against Covid-19 and chaired Cabinet briefings on measures taken by the government to contain its spread.
Ramaphosa said he had been consumed by grief and sorrow over the death of Mthembu, whom he described as his good friend and a loyal member of his Cabinet.