Kegakilwe was a selfless leader
MEC was an academic at heart and acquired several qualifications
Born: April 1 1967 Died: July 6 Funeral: Service will be held at home in Vryburg from 7am Burial: local cemetery
The North West province is still reeling in shock following the death of one of its selfless leaders, MEC Mothibedi Gordon Kegakilwe.
He was local government practitioner par excellence, a community leader who spent his life fighting for a developmental and responsive local government.
He succumbed to Covid-19 complications on Monday, after battling with pneumonia at the weekend. He passed on in a hospital in Klerksdorp.
Kegakilwe, who was North West MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs, was also a committed cadre of the ANC.
He was born 53 years ago at Tlakgameng village in Ganyesa, 70km northwest of Vryburg. He started his primary education at Kegakilwe Primary in 1973, and completed secondary education at Pinagare College, also in Ganyesa.
In 1986, he enrolled for a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degree (MBChB) at the then Medical
University of Southern Africa (Medunsa), now known as Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University.
He later dropped out due to students’ uprising at that time. But his desire for academic qualifications remained alive as he went on to earn a BSc (in education), an honours degree in chemistry, a masters in governance and political transformation from the University of the Free State.
He also did a certificate programme in management development in municipal finance at Wits University.
He was a teacher in his earliest work career, and also lectured at a local college.
As an ANC member and a leader, Kegakilwe served in various structures of the party, including being the regional chairperson for Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region from 2006 to 2010.
Kegakilwe served as municipal manager for the Kagisano-Molopo municipality, whose seat is Ganyesa, his hometown.
In 2009-2011, he was deployed as a member of the executive council (MEC) responsible for local government and traditional affairs in the province and later deployed as the chief whip of ANC in the North West legislature.
In February 2011, he was elected the deputy provincial secretary of the ANC in the North West, and was acting provincial secretary from December 2012 until November 2013.
In 2014 he was deployed as chairperson of committees entrusted with the coordination of the work of committees in the NW legislature.
In 2016, the ANC asked him to resign as member of legislature and deployed him as the provincial planning commissioner, whose work included macro planning for the province and ensuring integrated planning across the spheres of government.
Following the national and provincial elections in May 2019, Kegakilwe was appointed to the MEC position he was holding when he died this week.
He is survived by his wife, Betty, and three children – Tlotlo Omphemetse and Onkabetse.
He will be buried today.
He served in various ANC structures