The controversy centres around a handwritten note left by Mboweni, instructing that Mbeki should deliver a eulogy at his funeral. Multiple independent sources confirmed the existence of this note, with one source stating, “Tito even wrote the type of food he wanted served at his funeral.”
Family and friends confirmed that Mboweni spent his final days with his brother, Jo, who was entrusted with these final instructions. The family also informed government officials responsible for arranging the funeral of Mboweni’s wishes. This was not a recent decision; Mboweni and Mbeki had a long-standing agreement that whoever passed away first would be eulogised by the other at their funeral.
However, minutes before the funeral commenced last Saturday near Tzaneen, Mbeki was inexplicably omitted from the programme of speakers. Sources close to the funeral arrangements revealed that when the final programmes were distributed, the absence of Mbeki’s name caused significant surprise and consternation.
“There was even a serious discussion whether to hide those programmes or not, but at the end it was agreed that they must be distributed as they were, without former president Mbeki in the line-up of speakers,” one source revealed.
This omission prompted Mboweni’s brothers, Jo and Lincoln, to visit the Thabo Mbeki Foundation offices in Johannesburg on Monday to express their anger and seek redress. In an email subsequently sent to Mbeki himself and seen by the news crew, Jo Mboweni unequivocally stated the family’s position.
He wrote, “government protocol will never supersede the word of the departed or trounce the wishes of the family in mourning”.
He further demanded accountability, stating, “It is not the ANC that must apologise for disregarding the wish and directives of Cde Tito Mboweni and his family, but those who decided and who disregarded the wish who must apologise to [Mbeki], the Mboweni family, the ANC, and the world for what happened.”
Jo emphasised the importance of respecting the deceased’s wishes, citing a traditional African principle: “In my clan and in line with African wisdom, it is a very well known and respected tradition that ga le tshelwe – a dead man’s wish must be respected.”
He stressed the need for government officials to learn from this incident, urging that “This lesson must be etched with a chisel of morality on the foundation stone of the building and office of every important structure dealing with protocol.”
Speculation surrounding the reasons for Mbeki’s exclusion points to concerns that his presence might overshadow President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The decision to remove Mbeki as a speaker was made because some people thought he was going to outshine president Ramaphosa. There’s no denying that Mbeki and Tito were closer than he was with Ramaphosa,” a source claimed.
Ramaphosa’s office has remained silent on the matter.
Attempts to obtain comment from various parties involved have yielded mixed results. Mboweni’s brother, Alto, declined to comment, stating, “We have asked the media, as a family, to give us space to mourn, and we haven’t yet decided to talk about anything.”
Similarly, Thabo Mbeki Foundation spokesperson Lukhanyo Neer declined to confirm or deny receipt of Jo Mboweni’s email. Jo Mboweni himself was unavailable for comment.
