HONOUR FOR CITY HERO
A CITY hero who lost his life while saving two Northern Cape book club members from drowning in the sea in 2019 will be bestowed the Order of Mendi award in silver for bravery by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The ceremony will take place at the Sefako Makgatho presidential guest house in Pretoria today.
The incident took place in Victoria Bay when Kgomotso Thomas, 36, the Funda Mzantsi championships regional co-ordinator for the Frances Baard District, and Northern Cape book clubs were attending the 10th national Funda Mzantsi championships in George on September 25, 2019.
Thomas, who was a library assistant and official at the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, was swept away by rough seas after saving the lives of a Grade 8 pupil from Upington and a second-year student from Sol Plaatje University, who were also participating in the competition.
A colleague and provincial co-ordinator of the Funda Mzantsi championships, Itumelng Victor Modise, stated that Thomas did not hesitate to jump into the choppy water when he noticed that the two book club members were struggling.
“He managed to save the Grade 8 pupil and went back in to save the student, who managed to swim back to shore. The student alerted us that Thomas was overcome by the current and we waited for some time while lifeguards went in to assist him. They tried to resuscitate him for about 45 minutes but he did not survive as there was too much water in his lungs,” said Modise.
He added that the book club won four trophies for spelling, debate and book reviews in English, Setswana and Afrikaans that year, while the Sol Plaatje University book club had renamed itself after Thomas.
“We were hoping that he would be honoured in the Province as an official of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, although this never happened. I decided to nominate him for the award in 2020 and we received the letter on April 13 that the president had decided to honour him for paying the ultimate price
for rescuing the two young people.
“He also served as the Nehawu deputy chairperson from 2014 to 2018 and was the Nehawu deputy secretary at the time of his death.”
Modise added that the Funda Mzantsi championships committee was in the process of naming an award in his honour as well as for his contribution towards fostering a love of books and reading.
“The Northern Cape book clubs won 11 trophies during the competition last year and are continuing to grow from strength to strength.”
Masego Meremetsi, who is also employed at the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, added that her brother was a strong swimmer who taught her children how to swim.
“I was overcome with emotion when we heard that my brother would be bestowed the award. I had even forgotten about the nomination as the application was made a long time ago. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture assisted us to travel to George to identify his body but did not contribute towards the burial. The death benefits were paid out to my brother’s sons.”
She added that she was looking forward to meeting President Cyril Ramaphosa at the ceremony.
“This award will give my
brother the honour he deserves for being a hero and a role-model. He was always so full of life and jokes and loved making people laugh.”
Ipeleng Mazabane, who will be attending the awards ceremony with her daughter, said that she
was extremely proud of her son.
“From an early age it was his nature to selflessly help others and we will continue to honour his memory. I have still kept a bouquet of proteas that was given to the family last year at the 12th Funda Mzantsi championships in appreciation for sacrificing his life. The municipality, Department of Correctional Services and reading community in George hold an annual memorial service to commemorate his contribution to humanity, which is attended by up to 3 000 people.”
The spokesperson for the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Morapedi Sekhoane, said they were excited that the Order of Mendi award in silver would be bestowed posthumously to their late official for the heroic rescue.
“The two youths were part of the university's book club that was taking part in the national library's Funda Mzantsi championships that were held in George in the Western Cape and in the process Thomas paid the ultimate price. The university's book club has since been named the Kgomotso Thomas book club. The department had also resolved to include his family in all activities of the Funda Mzantsi championships,” said Sekhoane.
He added that the Thomas family would accept the award.
“The department would like to take this opportunity to thank the honourable president for the award, which will go a long way in honouring Thomas' memory and rewarding his extraordinary act of bravery.”