President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address at the Special Official funeral of the late SA Ambassador to France Nathi Mthethwa held at KwaMbonambi in KwaZulu Natal this afternoon, where he spoke highly of the departed former Cabinet Minister.
In his speech, President Rampahosa said, variously:
We gather here today, in mourning and in gratitude, to honour the life of a remarkable leader — someone whose courage, conviction and compassion helped steer our nation toward freedom and justice.
Comrade Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa has been taken away from us, yet in the echoes of his deeds, in the memories we share of him, and in the lives he touched, his spirit endures as does the many lessons we must learn from his illustrious life.
The man we are laying to rest today was an unapologetic activist.
From the earliest days of his activism, Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa refused to accept the injustice of apartheid.
Faced with laws that sought to divide, demean and destroy, he responded not with resignation, but with resolve.
Standing resolute
… even in adversity, Ambassador Mthethwa remained steady. He was a beacon to many, teaching us that freedom is never free, that resistance sometimes demands sacrifice, but that our highest obligation is to keep faith with the promise of human equality.
To Comrade Nathi’s Mthethwa’s family: we know this loss is deeply personal.
We recognise the many private sacrifices you made so that Comrade Nathi might carry public burdens.
Today, we share your grief. We stand with you in sorrow, but also in pride: of a life lived with integrity, of a mission fulfilled that was bigger than any single person, but which needed people like Nyambose to bring it into being.
Today as we say goodbye, let us not simply mourn. Let us resolve.
Let us honour Nathi Mthethwa’s memory by renewed commitment. By ensuring that the freedoms he fought and worked for are protected. By confronting inequality wherever it still exists. By raising our voices for those still voiceless.
Young Lion
He joined the anti-apartheid struggle in the early 1980s when he was barely a teenager.
Yet that youthful courage and that commitment saw him rise through the ranks to take up positions of leadership in the broader liberation movement.
Following his brave role as a shop steward in the food industry and as an underground activist he was recruited and became involved in the dangerous and high stakes President Tambo initiated Operation Vula. This was a signal of the confidence and trust that his comrades had in him. It was also a sign of his political maturity and his courage.
He was of a generation that came of age as our democracy was about to dawn.
It was a generation of young lions that saw the end of apartheid and ushered in a new era of freedom and justice.
Voice of South Africa abroad
The life of Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa offers several deep and relevant lessons – for both young people and those within the ANC and Government – especially in a time when many are questioning the future of the struggle, leadership and Public Service.
I would suggest that he taught us what courage and commitment is. From being a shop steward, to his student days in Klaarwater, to being detained, to holding high office, he never lost sight of what drew him into the struggle: the belief that injustice must be opposed; that people deserve dignity, rights, opportunities.
He exhibited service before self. Friends and comrades say he was disciplined, loyal, sometimes controversial, but always believing he was working for “we, the people” — not for self-aggrandisement. He understood that leadership means responsibility, accountability, bearing burdens even when the path is difficult.
He was an advocate of culture, heritage and identity.
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