Mashatile declares special official funeral for late Mdladlana

Acting President Paul Mashatile has declared a special official funeral to honour former labour minister and High Commissioner to Canada Membathisi Mdladlana.

Mdladlana, who died last Friday aged 72, succeeded former labour minister Tito Mboweni, who was laid to rest over the weekend.

Special funeral

Mashatile’s acting spokesperson Keith Khoza said the special official funeral category two designated by the acting president will entail ceremonial elements presented by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

“The occasion will take place in Cape Town on Saturday, 26 October 2024. Further details will be communicated in due course.

“Acting President Mashatile has declared that the National Flag be flown at half-mast around the country from tomorrow morning, Wednesday 23 October 2024, until the evening of the funeral on 26 October 2024,” Khoza said.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa describes the late Mdladlana as a leadership pioneer

Mashatile offered his sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mdladlana.

Biography

A teacher by training and a former school principal, Mdladlana became a member of South Africa’s first democratic Parliament in 1994.

Four years later, he was appointed Minister of Labour by President Nelson Mandela and was retained in this role by former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma.

Current president, Cyril Ramaphosa said Mdladlana’s death was a “loss to his family and friends and the nation.”

“We have recently been visited by a succession of departures of veterans of our liberation struggle and pioneers of the dawn of our democracy.”

‘Pioneer’

Ramaphosa said Mdladlana was one of these pioneers who provided leadership in the education sector of the struggle at a time of great repression by the state and growing resistance by the people.

“In the year in which we are marking 30 years of freedom and democracy, Shepherd Mdladlana’s passing and that of other leaders takes us back in time to the sacrifices and struggles of our past, the hope with which we embarked on building a new society and the hard work it has taken since then to secure the gains we have made.

“Shepherd Mdladlana will live on in our hearts and our history. May his soul rest in peace,” Ramaphosa said.

ALSO READ: Former minister Mdladlana ‘honest servant of working class’