Joemat-Pettersson’s memorial to be held in Kimberley on Wednesday

A national memorial service to honour the late African National Congress (ANC) MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson will be held on Wednesday.

The service will be held at the Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre in Kimberley

Acting secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane during a visit to the Petterson home in Kimberley told the SABC the memorial service will “celebrate the life of Joemat-Pettersson”.

“The service will reflect on the journey she has travelled and to celebrate and honour her legacy moving forward as the African National Congress.

“We continue to pay condolences to the family. Comrade Tina has been an activist of note from a tender age as a youth and student activist, a trade unionist in her own right, but also the first woman to be a chairperson of the South African Communist Party in the entire country. That says a lot about Comrade Tina,” said Mokonyane.

Memorial

At the time of her passing Joemat-Petterson served as a Member of Parliament and chairperson of the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on police.

Mokonyane is expected to deliver the eulogy at the memorial service.

The ANC said it expects all members of the tripartite alliance to be in attendance to pay homage to Joemat-Petterson.

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Controversy

Joemat-Pettersson died at the age of 59 last week, sparking mixed reactions from the public as the former minister was no stranger to controversy.

While she has been praised for her unwavering dedication to the people of South Africa, controversy has dodged her final days.

More recently, Joemat-Pettersson was accused of trying to extort funds from suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to make her impeachment inquiry “go away”.

The committee’s chairperson, Qubudile Dyantyi, and ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina have also been implicated.

Mkhwebane’s husband, David Skosana, has opened a case of extortion.

Skosana reportedly gave screenshots of WhatsApp messages purported to be between Joemat-Pettersson and himself to the police.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa

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