WATCH: Funeral service for Emalahleni mayor Linah Malatjie and husband

The funeral service for the late Emalahleni municipality mayor Linah Malatjie and her husband Essau is currently underway, after the pair perished in a head-on collision in Mpumalanga on Monday morning. 

“Her passing has robbed not only her family of a mother, but the municipality – and the entire Mpumalanga province – of a leader with a wealth of experience in local government,” Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshwani-Tsipane said earlier this week. 

A memorial service was held for the Malatjies on Wednesday. 

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In the South Africa Local Government Association’s (Salga) condolences, they said the mayor made an indelible contribution not only to the communities she served in the municipality but also to the local government sector at large. 

“Mayor Malatjie was an amazing and inspirational leader. 

“Thanks to her rigour, professionalism and immense body of knowledge about local government affairs, which she generously shared, the organisation, municipality and the broader municipal government sector benefited considerably from this, and her passing is a profound loss.”

Linah Malatjie was elected as Honourable Executive Mayor of Emalahleni during a special council sitting in April 2018. 

The accident involving Linah and her husband happened along the R544, between Gemsbokspruit and Verena in Mpumalanga. 

Watch the live coverage of the Malatjies’ funeral service, courtesy of SABC News, below.

Additional reporting by Cheryl Kahla