Chabane's family deny removing 'attention-seeker' from funeral

Late Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane's family members have denied throwing controversial Facebook user Thembani Chabane out of their prominent relative's funeral this past weekend.

Their response follows a series of social media posts in which Thembani, who claims to be related to the late minister, told his Facebook friends and followers that he was physically removed from a white tent at the funeral of Collins' elder brother, Professor Patrick Chabane.

The funeral took place in Xikundu village outside Malamulele over the weekend.

"I confirm that nobody was taken out of the funeral. Everybody was treated well with humanity and dignity as it is against our culture and tradition to kick out someone who is mourning or in zeal with us. Thembani just likes attention and I always warn him about his Facebook posts that it will destroy him and one day he will end up in jail," said Chabane family spokesman Percy Chabane this week.

Last year, Thembani was arrested after claiming that some ANC top politicians in Limpopo were responsible for the minister's fatal car accident
in March last year, in which he and his two bodyguards collided with a truck between Limpopo and Gauteng.

Thembani, who had deactivated his Facebook account following his arrest on charges of criminal defamation, crimen injuria and incitement of violence, made a return this week, accusing the Chabane family of throwing him out of the professor's funeral.

"I feel very humiliated because of what happened during my brother's funeral. I was there just like any other mourner to pay my last respects, but I was told that I was not welcome and I should leave the venue.

"Even if there were differences between us as a family, we should have waited for the funeral to be over so that we [could] sit down and find a solution instead of humiliating me like that," said Thembani.

However, Percy denied ever seeing Thembani at the funeral.

He admitted that he talks to Thembani frequently over the phone.

The late minister's younger brother, Musa Chabane, labelled Thembani an attention-seeker. - African Eye News Service