The late African National Congress (ANC) stalwart, and former minister in the Presidency Dr Essop Pahad has been buried according to Muslim funeral rites, at the West Park Cemetery, west of Johannesburg.
Pahad died on Thursday, aged 84 and was buried in a special official funeral, category 2, declared by Deputy President Paul Mashatile in his acting capacity as President.
While delivering the eulogy as President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently on a state visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mashatile called Pahad, a tried and trusted cadre of the movement.
“We woke up to the sad news of the passing of a tried and tested cadre, a leader of the people of South Africa. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit comrade Essop and his family. It was impossible and most painful, to reconcile his frail state, with the energetic, assertive, and forthright comrade Essop that I have come to know for many decades. Comrade Essop internalised the Marxist adage, that says to leave error unrefuted is to encourage intellectual immorality,” says Mashatile.
Video: Essop Pahad’s funeral service
