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'A Great Loss' - South Africans Mourn Minister Jackson Mthembu

South African Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, has died at the age of 63 from Covid-19 related complications. President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended his deepest sympathy to Mthembu's family, and tributes are pouring in from all sectors of the country. An EyeWitness News obituary by Gaye Davis says that Mthembu "will be remembered as a staunch defender of the Constitution and as a deft politician who threw himself into the hard work of repairing divisions in the African National Congress and getting it back on track after years of misrule under former President Jacob Zuma". Davis writes that his passing leaves a gaping hole in the government's communications machinery: Mthembu was the public face of its messaging in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic gripping the country. 

GCIS/Flickr

Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu briefing the media on outcomes of a Cabinet meeting in August 2019.

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