Minister to get special state funeral
MAVIS Chabane looked the picture of calm and dignity when she alighted from one of the dignitaries’ cars at the accident scene where her husband, Collins Chabane – who will be accorded a special state funeral, died yesterday.
The public service and administration minister’s wife disembarked about 15m away and seemed all right, but then as she got closer, she broke down.
She was overcome by emotion when she saw the mangled wreckage of the car in which her husband had been killed.
The minister’s wife weakened visibly as she continued walking, crying. Two unknown women helped her retain her balance on her way towards the wrecked car. Although she finally regained her composure, her anguish was palpable.
She had arrived from Pretoria to see for herself the scene of the accident that killed Chabane and his two VIP protectors.
When she arrived at about 1pm yesterday, she was accompanied by several cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. It was about 12 hours after Chabane’s official vehicle, a VW Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI, had smashed into a truck.
A door and shards of broken glass were strewn about even though the police and the forensic road-crash investigation services officials had partly cleared the accident scene.
Chabane, 54, died when his vehicle crashed into a truck that was allegedly making a U-turn on the N1 highway outside Polokwane, police said.
Chabane, Sergeant Lawrence Lentsoane and Sergeant Lesiba Sekele died instantly.
The truck was in the middle of the four-lane highway.
Limpopo police spokeswoman Colonel Ronel Otto said the truck driver was not injured.
He was arrested and charged with culpable homicide.
“When they arrested him, he took a breathalyser test.
“It did indicate that he might have been drinking. So we took him to a hospital for blood tests.”
Otto could not say how long it would take for the results of the blood tests to be made available.
But later, the commander of the police’s Polokwane cluster, MajorGeneral Joseph Maepa, made startling revelations about the truck driver.
He told Chabane’s wife and the entourage of cabinet ministers that the truck driver was “drunk”.
Maepa said the licence disc for the truck had expired last year.
“We also did a background check and we found that he has a (pending) case of driving under (the) influence of alcohol (in Gauteng’s Ekurhuleni) and an assault case in Giyani (Limpopo),” Maepa said.
He said the driver would be charged with culpable homicide, reckless driving, driving under influence of alcohol and driving without a valid licence.
He was expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.
On Saturday, Chabane was officiating at the funeral of the late former Gazankulu prime minister and ANC MP, Chief Eric Nxumalo, in Malamulele.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the government needed to tighten regulations to curb road deaths caused by drunk driving.
Chabane would be given a special official funeral, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said yesterday.
“Minister Chabane, as a dedicated and serving member of the cabinet, will be accorded a special official funeral, details of which will be recorded at a later stage,” he said at a media briefing.
Radebe said President Jacob Zuma was “deeply shocked” by his untimely death and viewed it as a huge loss to the government and to the country.
He described Chabane as an “intellectual giant” and a man who was “not in the clouds, but grounded among his people”.
“He will be remembered for his great sense of humour, humility and hard work.” – Additional reporting by Sapa
STATE officials, former colleagues, and opposition and ANC MPs were reeling in shock at the sudden death yesterday of the “humble” and “witty” public service and administration minister, Collins Chabane, as tributes poured in for him.
South Africans woke up to the news yesterday morning that Chabane’s official vehicle had collided with a truck on the N1 between Limpopo and Gauteng.
His bodyguards, sergeants Lesiba Sekele and Lawrence Lentsoane, were also killed.
Acting cabinet spokeswoman Phumla Williams, whose relationship with the minister dated from 1981 in Maputo, Mozambique, spoke fondly of Chabane yesterday.
“When he first came to the ANC, when I was in Maputo, we stayed in one house. What was so humbling about minister Chabane is that he never forgot to tell people that when he first joined the ANC, ‘the first person who trained me was Phumla’. That’s how far back we come from,” said Williams yesterday.
She said the next time the two met was when they were working in the government.
“Now that was the relationship for me. I started being acting CEO of GCIS under his leadership. He was an excellent mentor. But not only that, he was clued up on ANC policies.
“What also made him a human being was how he thanked the general staff whenever he could,” said Williams.
Chabane has been described as “humble” with a “sharp wit and easy humour” by those close to him.
Parliament’s presiding officers, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete, National Council of Provinces chairwoman Thandi Modise and their deputies, Lechesa Tsenoli and Raseriti Tau, also expressed “shock and sadness” on behalf of Parliament.
“The dedication, humility and good humouredness he displayed in carrying out the various responsibilities assigned to him will be greatly missed. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” they said.
ANC chief whip Stone Sizani said Chabane’s death “leaves a huge void within the ranks of government and the African National Congress, which he served with loyalty and selflessness for decades”.
“In the context of the parliamentary caucus, his faithful participation in study groups and other caucus structures, the great wisdom he imparted as well as the vibrant intellectual discourse he stirred, would be greatly missed,” said Sizani.
The portfolio committee on public service and administration also joined in expressing its shock at Chabane’s untimely death.
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder said that for five years he got to know Chabane as a deputy minister within a cabinet set-up.
“He was a pleasant person with an exceptional sense of humour and a love for music, like the CDs which he made speak of,” said Mulder.
ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa said Chabane had an “incisive mind, sharp wit and easy humour”.
“Comrade Collins’s passing leaves a huge void in the ANC and the government,” said Kodwa.
“He was a true servant of the people who joined the struggle for liberation at a very young age, and soon went on to carry on the fight in exile.
“An ardent and passionate lover of the arts, comrade Collins was a versatile and personable cadre at home on a marimba as he was in the corridors of power from which he served our people.”
A recorded musician, Chabane was previously minister in the Presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation.
In 1994 Chabane became a member of the standing committee on finance, minerals and energy affairs.
Chabane left Parliament in 1997 to serve in the Limpopo provincial legislature, but returned to the National Assembly in 2009 when he was appointed minister in the Presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation.
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) said Chabane’s death was tragic.
“Minister Collins Chabane was always warm and engaging in his interaction with SA Jewry, which in turn was reflective of his commitment to ensuring the peaceful co-existence of all South Africans,” the board said in a statement.
“The SAJBD extends heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Collins Chabane, to the South African government and to every South African citizen who benefited from his humane and far-sighted leadership.” – Additional reporting by Sapa