A tribute to Minister Jackson Mthembu: A true gentleman
South Africans all over mourned the death of Mthembu after he died of Covid-19 related complications on 21 January 2021. Colleagues and adversaries give tribute to his life as a politician.
“Comrade Jackson was one of the most reliable people I knew,” said Dr Mathews Phosa former premier of Mpumalanga and close confidant of the late minister Jackson Mthembu in his tribute.
Phosa recalled the time he met Mthembu after defending him following his arrest for terrorism.
He told Izak du Plessis about Mthembu’s struggle credentials.
Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu was born on 5 June 1958, in what was then known as Witbank (Emalahleni).
He served as Minister in the Presidency of South Africa’s government, after being appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019.
Mthembu, who served as chief whip for the ANC in parliament at that time, advocated openly for Ramaphosa to become president of the ANC in 2017, and many see his appointment as a sign of gratitude by Ramaphosa.
Previously, Mthembu served as the MEC for Transport in Mpumalanga from 1997 to 1999. He was then elected to the national assembly in 1999 where he served until his death.
He has been a member of the ANC national executive committee since 2007, and served as the ANC’s chief whip in the national assembly from 2016 to 2019.
Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald described him as a stalwart for the ANC.
Mthembu was honoured by many as a true gentleman in tributes appearing on social media and elsewhere. Mkhuleko Hlengwa, national spokesperson for the IFP, described Mthembu as a “bridge-builder”.
This description of Mthembu as a “bridge-builder” was well illustrated in his last tweet on 11 January.
A Twitter user called ‘Modus’ (@NotOperandi) wrote that healthcare workers who teach people to sanitise, also contract Covid-19. Mthembu then reacted by saying that “They are human too”.
They are human too .
— Minister Jackson Mthembu (@JacksonMthembu_) January 12, 2021
On Friday, the presidency issued a media statement about Mthembu’s funeral.
“The late Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu will be honoured with an Official Funeral Category 1 at his home in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, on Sunday 24 January 2021,” the Presidency said.
The state, official and provincial official funeral policy accords official funerals category 1 to serving ministers. The national flag will be flown at half-mast at every flag station in the country from tomorrow morning, 23 January 2021, until the evening of the day of the funeral on Sunday.
