WATCH| Jackson Mthembu hailed as a national hero in an emotional send-off in Mpumalanga

The funeral of the late Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu took place in his hometown in Mpumalanga.

President Cyril Ramaphosa honored Mthembu with an Official Category One funeral.

When the wife of the late minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu saw President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was waiting for her outside the Roman Catholic Church, she wept.

This is where Thembi Mthembu would on Sunday bid farewell to her husband and the father of her children. He died on Thursday from Covid-19 related complications.

Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy at the funeral which took place at the Roman Catholic Church near Mthembu’s home at Ackerville, Emalahleni, in Mpumalanga.

When the hearse arrived at his home, several family members could be seen fighting back tears.

Before leaving to the Roman Catholic Church, a family elder performed a family ritual of paying the final respects to Mthembu while his body was in a casket outside his home.

According to his obituary, Mthembu was born at Schoongezicht farm in Emalahleni (formerly Witbank) in Mpumalanga on June 5 1958.

He was the firstborn son of Mama Rosie Nantoni Mthembu.

In his formative years, he attended Schoongezicht American Board Primary School and Kromkrans Farm School before moving to Elukhanyisweni Secondary School in Emalahleni.

The anti-apartheid activist, who was part of the liberation struggle inside SA, cut his political teeth in student politics in the 1970s and his activism continued when he was a student at the University of Fort Hare, resulting in his expulsion in 1980.

Later Mthembu contributed immensely to the establishment of the Union of Metal Workers, in which he served as a senior shop steward at Highveld Steel Corporation.

Watch the full funeral service below: (video courtesy – eNCA)

Main Image: Krugersdorp news