Mbeki snubbed at Mboweni funeral despite late minister’s wishes – Thabo Mbeki Foundation

Former president Thabo Mbeki has opted to release a public eulogy meant for Tito Mboweni’s funeral that his foundation says he was prevented from delivering at the former minister's funeral on Saturday. 

Mboweni’s family, according to the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, asked him to deliver a tribute at the funeral, something they revealed was the deceased’s final wish.

The foundation said a draft funeral programme with a list of proposed speakers included Mbeki but his name was removed with no explanation. “It was noted that all the names proposed by the family were included, except for President Mbeki’s. Despite no explanation being provided for this unexpected omission, President Mbeki accepted the change without raising any questions, and acknowledged that he would not be speaking at the service,” the foundation said.

Mbeki’s tribute to Mboweni chronicled the apartheid years, the massacres against the liberation movement in which they belong and Mboweni’s service to South Africa. 

Mbeki revealed that together with Mboweni, they had agreed “it was absolutely imperative that our nation as a whole should engage in a truly inducive and first national dialogue to answer the question how do we pull our country out of its crisis.”

The crisis, according to Mbeki, remains high levels of unemployment and poverty affecting large numbers of people and persisting wealth and income inequality 

In the period leading up to this year’s general election, Mbeki delivered a public address, an assessment of South Africa’s first 30 years of democracy. “Because of the importance of this address, we convened an expanded meeting of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation council of advisors to discuss the content of the address, Tito Mboweni attended and participated actively in the meeting.  We agreed that we must tell this truth but some among those who have fought against the ANC during the years of struggle against apartheid,” he said. 

Mbeki said the election results, in which the ANC lost the majority vote, constituted a threat to the National Democratic Revolution and the party. He said he and Mboweni understood they shared a common responsibility with the leaders and the rest of the members “to answer the very urgent and critically important question practically, what must we do to defend the democratic revolution as well as its leader, the ANC”.

Mbeki said: “Comrade Tito departed at the time when his country and his movement needed him the most. Both needed him because despite the temptation that which have captured some among us, he remained the true revolutionary cadre formed during the years of struggle to defeat the apartheid crime against humanity.” 

He also revealed that Mboweni was very glad the government of national unity had agreed to the national dialogue. “I am certain many of you ... are saying, as Tito would, we await with bated breath the national dialogue to begin,” he added.