Johannesburg – The former Free State Police, Transport and Roads MEC Butana Komphela has passed away at a hospital in Bloemfontein.
Family spokesperson Mangaliso Xaba confirmed his death, and said details of the cause of his death will be shared in due course.
Last year in November, the 65-year-old, was found guilty of culpable homicide after his BMW collided with a Volkswagen Polo between Theunissen and Bloemfontein on 6 January 2019.
He was then sentenced to three years in prison by the Brandfort Magistrate’s Court.
Komphela served as MEC for Police, Roads and Transport in the province, where he was first appointed as the MEC in June 2011.
He was then re-elected to the position in 2014, where during his tenure, he successfully brought down the crime statistics in the province.
Before he became member of the executive council, he served in the National Assembly’s sports committee as chairman.
It was on this role that Komphela pushed for transformation across sports codes, especially in rugby and cricket.
Johnny Mohlala, who’s a close acquaintance of Komphela, says he is still in shock and the news of Komphela hasn’t sunk in as yet.
“His sudden death came as a shock to me and I think many who knew him. We remain only with lessons and memories now that he has passed on, it’s like he is painted all over the streets,” said Mohlala.
“Today, I would like to pay tribute to a very dear comrade and friend. He was a man of an immense love for his country and its people,” he added further.
“A comrade who was known to be full of energy. This is a comrade that I in parliament as part of a group that was removed from the Free State Legislature.
The group included Ace Magashule, Sisi Ntombela and Aaron Mdluli. We affectionately called him “Computer” because of his sharp mind,” he spoke vividly about Komphela.
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