Moving tributes to late minister
Rev Mphithi described as loving husband, community builder and pioneering theologian
The Methodist Church’s Rev Mandisi Mphithi was a faithful man of God whose love for his wife, Dunyiswa, and children was so firm that even the fire that claimed their lives could not separate them.
This was according to the Rev Nompithizelo Sibidla, of the church’s Kumkani Hintsa district, of which Mphithi’s Seplan circuit in Cala was part.
The Mphithi family and their children burnt to death when the fire broke out at their manse in the Seplan circuit on the morning of November 4.
Only their domestic worker was saved during the blaze.
Sibidla was speaking at the Orient Theatre in East London on Tuesday at the funeral service of Mphithi, 46, Dunyiswa, 29, and their children, 11month-old Yololwethu, threeyear-old Zimi, and five-year-old Khololwethu.
Their burial took place on Tuesday morning at Macleantown, near East London. The funeral was attended by premier Oscar Mabuyane and University of Fort Hare academics.
Mphithi, who graduated with a master’s degree in systematic theology, was planning a PHD in theology starting at UFH next year.
Mphithi’s sister Nombongo said her brother was a loving man. “He was a very strict person who loved people. He really loved me and my children.
“When he brought his wife Dunyiswa to our home we found another friend.
“Dudu was like my sister who constantly checked up on me.
“I have lost worlds in losing all of them. May their souls rest in peace,” Nombongo said.
Yanga Zulu, Dunyiswa’s brother, said they were deeply saddened by the death of the couple and their children.
“My brother-in-law was very lucky to have my sister as his wife. We used to call Dunyiswa Dudu.
“She was a very loving lady who always had a smile.
“We grew up under strict parents and you imagine the girl she was when she met our brother-in-law.
“We are happy the Mphithi family looked after my sister and her children. Indeed, my sister found a loving husband in Mandisi,” Zulu said.
Mabuyane told mourners the fire even shocked President Cyril Ramaphosa, who called to inquire about it.
“It really pains me when I think of what was happening to them in the house,” the premier said.
“We lost community builders in Rev Mphithi and his wife.
“We wish their families all the strength they need.”
Mandisi’s friend Ray Mpahla said he grew up with the church minister in Duncan Village.
“We went to circumcision school together.
“He was a great gentleman who liked cleanliness.
“I was not surprised when he became the church minister because, as we grew up in the township, he never touched alcohol and tobacco,” Mpahla said.
Prof Reuben Rashe, the head of UFH’S department of religion and theology, said they were heartbroken.
“Rev Mphithi was a student at our university. He started his honours degree in theology with us. He finished his master’s degree.
“We are disturbed by his death. He was a determined student. We pushed him.
“What a great loss to us. He was a friend to all his fellow students.
“I had the privilege of being his supervisor. Mandisi had a broad desire of becoming an African theologian.
“He was an ordained minister of the Methodist Church but propagated African theology,” Rashe said.
Mphithi’s master’s degree topic was “Challenges Faced by Amathwasa (trainee sangoma) Christians: A Theological Problem for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa at Seplan Circuit”.
His findings revealed a lack of African spirituality and a need for conceptualisation of the gospels to meet the needs of Africans who converted to Christianity.
He also found out there was a lack of a shepherding model to care for and mentor the amathwasa within the church.
His recommendations were for the church to host a theological dialogue and discussions concerning the challenges and the calling of amathwasa.