Essop Pahad, close confidant of Thabo Mbeki, dies aged 84

Former minister in the presidency Dr Essop Pahad has succumbed to cancer, it was confirmed on Thursday morning.

He was 84.

A statement released on behalf of his children said: “It is with a heavy heart that we bring you the news of the passing of our beloved father. He peacefully left us in his sleep earlier today.

“He was not only a renowned figure in politics but also a loving brother, father, and grandfather. Unfortunately, he had been battling stage 4 cancer recently and succumbed to the illness.”

The family confirmed Pahad would be buried on Thursday afternoon.

Citizens were urged to “remember and celebrate the incredible life and contributions” of the former minister and struggle veteran.

Pahad was a close confidant of former president Thabo Mbeki and served as his parliamentary counsellor and spin doctor. He rose through the ranks of the South African Communist Party and the ANC. He was one of the first politicians to be linked to the now notorious Gupta family, becoming a director of TNA Media — owners of The New Age newspaper. The billionaires also cofounded and bankrolled Pahad's monthly publication, titled The Thinker. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences to Pahad's family, friends and comrades.

“We mourn the passing of a veteran of our struggle, 65 years after he took his first revolutionary step of becoming a member of the Transvaal Indian Congress. Security crackdowns, banning and exile shaped Essop Pahad’s contribution over decades to our struggle and... to the early design and impact of our democratic state.

“Essop Pahad was a thinker and strategist who brought his understanding of the human condition, injustice and inequality at the national and international level to bear on our transition to democracy and in introducing a democratic, non-aligned and activist South Africa to the global community," Ramaphosa said.

“He served our nation with pride, principle, pragmatism, and a charm that that lived comfortably alongside a tongue that could lash severely at the right provocation.

“Amid the excessive demands of his public life, Essop Pahad was deeply devoted to his wife, Meg, and was a proud and doting father and grandfather, who is now sorely missed."

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