Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says comrade Tito Mboweni was a robust politician who separated politics from personal relations. He says despite his disagreements politically, he never declared anyone an enemy.
The EFF leader says Mboweni’s humanity preceded him.
“So he will disagree vehemently and very emphatically without being ashamed. And you will do the same to engage in a robust manner. But he will never declare you an enemy. He always knew that above everything else is humanity. And that’s why we are here. We are here to bury a human being. We are here to bury a decent man. And all decent people deserve to be given a decent send-off.”
Mboweni died after a short illness in Johannesburg last week. His funeral service was held at Nkowankowa Stadium, outside Tzaneen in Limpopo.
Scores of dignitaries gathered at the stadium to pay tribute to the former Minister, who served as the country’s Finance Minister from 2018 until 2021.
One of the three Mboweni’s three sons, Sello says his father was a kind person who valued all people.
“My father was a man who took punches with resilience and humanity. I think that is the greatest lesson he has left with us. I believe that life is for living, laughing and forgiving. He made people feel seen and valued no matter who they were and what they were going through. He even believed himself to be a five-star chef. He was kind to everyone no matter who they were. He made people feel valued, listened to and cared for.”
Sello Mboweni pays tribute to his father:
Scores of dignitaries gathered at the stadium to pay tribute to the former Minister, who served as the country’s Finance Minister from 2018 until 2021.
Delivering his eulogy to the former anti-apartheid activist, President Cyril Ramaphosa describes Mboweni as a shining star in a maze of a dark period called state capture.
“He had already left public service when I knocked on his door asking him (0:53) to return to public service as a minister of finance. I just said to him, comrade Tito, your country needs you to do another tour of service. He agonized about giving up the material value he was building for himself and his family, but after a while, he came through for the people of South Africa and agreed to serve as minister of finance.”
While Mboweni may have been known to some as the first Minister of Labour in post-apartheid South Africa and SA Reserve Bank Governor between 1999-2009 – he was also fondly known for his culinary skills on social media X.
He was also featured on a song titled Tito Mboweni by music sensation Casper Nyovest.
Ramaphosa says that it was Mboweni’s humanity and relation to South Africans that allowed him to attain this.
President Cyril Ramaphosa lauds a ‘man of great stature’:
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has sent a delegation of his country to pay tribute to the late former Finance Minister.
The late Minister was known for promoting the Rwandan Government’s campaign of cleanliness. He would frequently visit the capital Kigali, where he would heap its praises for being the cleanest city on the continent.
He was buried at his ancestral village of Bordeaux outside Tzaneen in Limpopo.
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