Dr Frank Mdlalose buried in Madadeni
FRANK Mdlalose, who succumbed to Covid-19, left his wife, three children, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
The first tribute came from Dr Musa Ngubane, the district mayor of Amajuba, which was built on the ashes of the Bantustan-era Madadeni council, whose first mayor was Mdlalose.
He said Mdlalose, in many aspects, was “a pioneer” and a local “doyen”.
He recounted a rarely told story: Mdlalose was the first black medical doctor from the township and, instead of deserting it, came back to open a medical practice that not only served black patients, but also became a breeding ground for other renowned black medical doctors.
Among the black doctors who worked at Mdlalose’s practice were Ngubane himself and later Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, the former KZN MEC for health, who now chairs Parliament’s portfolio committee on health.
“He opened his medical practice in Madadeni and later some black doctors were groomed from it … Among them were me and Dr Dhlomo (who was also among the mourners),” Ngubane said.
As a principled politician, Mdlalose was never engulfed by any corruption scandals, said his daughter, Makhosazana Mdlalose, who is a councillor in the Newcastle municipality.
She attributed this to the fact that “he was an upright man”.
“He believed that once you start telling lies, you are paving the way to a corrupt route. He used to say that if you tell lies, then you can steal (from the public),” Mdlalose’s daughter said.
Delivering his eulogy during the sombre state-sponsored send-off, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala said he was in awe of the humility and simplicity shown by Mdlalose throughout his life. He said although Mdlalose had been a premier and an ambassador and had rubbed shoulders with the who’s who of the political world, he was humble and stayed with his people in the township.