Parliament, ANC pay tribute to MP Martha Mmola who died of Covid-19

Parliament and the ANC expressed its sadness after ANC MP Martha Mmola died due to Covid-19 on Saturday.

Mmola was a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) as a permanent delegate from Mpumalanga. She was elected a member of the National Assembly in 2014.

Parliament’s presiding officers, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and NCOP chairperson Amos Masondo, said in a joint statement that they have learnt with sadness of her untimely death due to a Covid-19 related illness.

“We have lost a committed legislator whose passion and drive for security matters transcended beyond Parliament. Ms Mmola was a longstanding active advocate for secure and safe communities. She supported various crime fighting initiatives, and was particularly vehement against gender-based violence in her community. She will be remembered for her hard work, dedication, passion and love for the communities she served.”

Modise and Masondo extended Parliament’s condolences to Mmola’s family, as well as all the “bereaved families of South Africans who have passed away due to this pandemic”.

“We continue to urge South Africans to adhere to all safety protocols of Level 3 lockdown, continue to stay at home and leave only when necessary, wash hands frequently and continue to wear masks at all times when in public spaces.”

Servant of the people

A statement from the office of ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina, expressed the party’s caucus’s sadness at Mmola’s death on the day the world was celebrating Mandela Day.

“A servant of the people, Comrade Mmola served the ANC and South Africa with diligence and she was passionate and stood firmly against gender-based violence and femicide, a pandemic that continues to plague our country,” reads Majodina’s statement.

“The ANC has lost a formidable leader who strived to see transformation in South Africa.”

Mmola served as a member of the Select Committee on Security and Justice; Select Committee Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements; Joint Standing Committee on Defence; Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings; Select Committee on Finance as well as the Select Committee on Appropriations.

In the previous Parliament, she was a member of the Portfolio Committee on Police.

In April, Amos Komeni, a project administrator in the office of Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli, died due to Covid-19.

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