By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The family of late former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Moerane has described him as street smart and loving person.
Moerane’s uncle, Gift, said his nephew was more than just a leader and his family shared these sentiments as they paid tribute to Moerane at his funeral service in Alexandra.
He passed away on Wednesday at Milpark Hospital after he succumbed to injuries from a car accident.
His daughter, Kutloano, told mourners that she would dearly miss her father, saying “In 2020, on his 50th birthday he asked me to write a speech for him. In the speech, I wrote ‘the first daughter is a female version of her father’ and I still couldn’t agree more.”
“I never thought at 17 I would bury you.”
There was a switch of emotions when Moerane’s friend Mike Maile shared comical memories of him and Moerane.
Fikile Moerane, wife of the late Moerane speaking through a friend, reminisced about the great times they shared and the acts of service.
Fikile spoke about how she was moved to tears when one of their four children, Neo, in their week of mourning, came to her with a cup of coffee and said: “I hope it’s exactly how dad used to make it”.
She described Moerane as a lover who was not shy to show it.
“I believe in ’till death do us part’ but I did not expect it to be so soon,” Fikile said.
“You were my rock … our together has been so viciously stolen from us. I thank God for loving me so much and I’m eternally grateful for the time I spent with you.”
Moerane was given a civic funeral attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa, his entourage of ministers and deputy ministers as well as Gauteng premier David Makhura and City of Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse.
Ramaphosa described Moerane as, “… the epitome of servant leadership”.
He said while the party was undergoing its current revamp and returning to placing the needs of the people above all else, there were some shortcomings towards attaining this.
But he said Moerane was one of those who have modelled the type of leader the ANC needed.
Moerane was the ANC caucus leader in the City of Johannesburg municipality, a position he had held since the local government elections in 2021.
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Video Courtesy of ENCA.