A memorial service for the late former minister Pravin Gordhan was held at the Johannesburg City Hall on Tuesday afternoon. This is followed by a second memorial service that will take place in Durban, on Wednesday.
The 75-year-old anti-apartheid activist died last week, following a short battle with cancer. Gordhan’s state funeral takes place on Thursday, also in Durban.
MEDIA ADVISORY: THE ANC HOSTS MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR THE LATE COMRADE PRAVIN GORDHAN IN GAUTENG AND KWA-ZULU NATAL. pic.twitter.com/n7gG6YSZDf
— African National Congress (@MYANC) September 16, 2024
His grieving family bid him farewell at his Pretoria home on Tuesday morning, where a viewing was held.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula delivered the keynote address at the first of two memorial services.
Pravin Gordhan
What a man
What a cadre
What a servant of the peopleWhen I heard about PG’s passing, I was filled with a profound sense of sadness.
PG was cruel to be kind
He didn’t suffer fools
With him, you knew where you stood
He was loyal and shaped many people’s… pic.twitter.com/0zGUvhChvR— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) September 14, 2024
Gauteng’s ANC chairperson and Premier, Panyaza Lesufi said Gordhan dedicated his life to the freedom of South Africans.
READ MORE: Pravin Gordhan’s official funeral to be held on Thursday, in Durban
“We come to you because our national leadership has requested us to convene you, to come and pay tribute to an astounding son of our revolution, a fearless cadre, a strategist, a cadre that embraced non-racialism when non-racialism was not a fashion, a cadre that dedicated his life to the liberation of our people,” said Lesufi.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Executive Director, Neeshan Balton spoke on behalf of the Gordhan family. Balton said Gordhan did not know that he had cancer and that he had very little time to prepare:
“From his deathbed, he directed his funeral. We were preparing for his funeral to take place in Johannesburg. By Wednesday night, he said ‘That funeral must happen in Durban because that is where I’m from, and my body must fly with SAA and no other airways’,” Balton reflected.
