Loving tributes flow for Edna Molewa
Speakers took turns sharing their experiences with Edna Molewa, late minister of environmental affairs, at a memorial service on Wednesday – but it was her children who had mourners captivated by some of their shares of intimate moments with their mom.
One could hear a pin drop in the large hall of the Tshwane Events Centre in Pretoria west as her daughters, Keneilwe Mogosoa and Didi Sethemba, read the tribute from Molewa’s four children.
The children shared memories of their upbringing, the love their mother had for them and the love they had for her, as well her wisdom about life.
They spoke of how Molewa would tell them to not just walk but walk with a purpose and not to fight her battles as they would have muscles that were not from their fights.
The children relayed how she would ask for the volume to be raised whenever her favourite song, by Luther Vandross, came on the radio, and how she would call them out of their bedrooms, at the top of her voice, whenever she came home.
“She was a loving mother who ensured that we felt loved. Even when she was away travelling, we never doubted that we were loved.
“We will miss her laugh and infectious smile.
“We will miss her cooking because she could cook very well,” Mogosoa read.
Molewa’s cooking prowess was also attested to by her friend, fellow ANC national executive committee member and minister of basic education Angie Motshekga, who said whenever they went to Molewa’s house, “there would be a feast session because she could cook very well”.
She said they had lost one of the best among them, somebody who was generous and who cared deeply for the less fortunate.
Motshekga said at the time of her death, she and Molewa were busy with their pet project: developing a process for linking people with opportunities.
“I don’t know how many times she came with family members to rescue families in distress. I don’t know how many times Edna came to my aid in difficult times,” she said.
Molewa, who died more than a week ago, will be laid to rest in an official state funeral in Pretoria on Saturday.
I don’t know how many times she came to rescue families in distress