Family members of the late African National Congress (ANC) stalwart and former Polokwane Mayor, Thabo Makunyane say they are still devastated following his death. Makunyane died on Thursday at the age of 64.
He served in various structures, including as a Member of Parliament in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Makunyane was also the first executive mayor of Polokwane.
“Dedicated and peaceful”, those are some of the phrases his family used to describe him.
Makunyane started active politics at an early age in the 70s. His political activism at the time, led to his arrest and incarceration at Robben Island, along with other notable stalwarts.
His uncle, Tshegedi Marishane, says Makunyane was arrested in the former Venda homeland.
“We were together in Turfloop. He did law. We were in the same class. Unfortunately, due to his activism he was snapped somewhere in Venda and charged and then sentenced to Robben Island,” says Tshegedi.
Upon his release after serving five years, he rejoined politics and ascended through structures of the ANC. Makunyane served in the NCOP. The ANC then deployed him to work in Limpopo, where he became the first Executive Mayor of Polokwane.
ANC Provincial Secretary Soviet Lekganyane says he was dedicated to transforming the lives of ordinary people.
“He has been the fulcrum in the African National Congress particularly in the Northern Transvaal, the then Northern Transvaal region where he cut his political teeth in the early 70s campaigning in the youth movement in the universities, joining the underground structures of the African National Congress. Makunyane belonged to a generation of young people who after 1976 laid a firm and solid foundation for the reassertion of congress politics,” says Lekganyane.
Marishane says Makunyane was passionate about tackling societal issues. “This is a very devastating moment. I can tell you each and every member of the family is feeling it. they are confused. They are scared. So, everybody is confused at present and we feel the loss. Everybody was relying on him. He was a very reliable person. My cousin was a peace-loving person. He loved people so much that he even felt he could fight for the people you know, and that is the reason … that is the reason he actually joined politics,” says Tshegedi.
Makunyane died on Thursday from illness. He is survived by three siblings, 8 children and 10 grandchildren.
Details of the funeral service will be made public soon.
