Fitting send-off
We tried to resuscitate him, but he went down, down and down until his last breath.
Sister Mavis Mahlakoane Nurse
Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu, as he was breathing his last breath, was worried about leaving President Cyril Ramaphosa behind, saying his boss would be disappointed.
This was revealed by Sister Mavis Mahlakoane, the nurse who took care of Mthembu in hospital.
Mthembu told her “Cyril is the only person who understands me”.
The nurse related the last-minute efforts by hospital staff to save Mthembu’s life. She said before died, his face felt cold and she had to warm it with his face cloth and made black tea for him.
He complained that the oxygen equipment on his face was cold and he felt uncomfortable and refused to continue with oxygen.
“We tried to resuscitate him, but he went down, down and down until his last breath. He threw the towel,” said Mahlakoane.
“What a calm soul he was,” said added, saying Mthembu was full of humanity and humour and always joked.
Delivering a eulogy during his funeral service in Witbank, Mpumalanga, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he lost “not just a dependable colleague and comrade, but a dear friend” in Mthembu.
He described the minister as a patriot and an exemplary leader with excellent work ethic.
Mthembu was never deceived by the false smiles of those who enriched themselves at the expense of the poor.
“He called them out and he did not care if they were more powerful than he was,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa told mourner during a service held Ackerville in Witbank, Mpulamanga, that when he broke the news of
Mthembu’s passing on Thursday to the party’s top six officials, they were “deeply moved in their grief and shed tears like he did”.
“Death had taken the very one who had been our citadel and our strength,” Ramaphosa said.
Mthembu left a void in government and some suggested he was irreplaceable.
“His passing reminded us we have more in common than we chose to imagine,” said Ramaphosa, acknowledging Mthembu’s many virtues, including his generosity of spirit, charming personality, ability to lift everybody’s mood, irreverent sense of humour, being principled and courageous and, above all, being honest and kind.