Bushy Maape will be laid to rest on Saturday (23/5) in Huhudi, Vryburg. Maape served as the seventh premier from September 2021 to May 2024.

His funeral will include ceremonial honours by the police service, with Ramaphosa ordering that flags be flown at half-mast nationwide from Friday until Saturday.

His successor, Lazarus Mokgosi, welcomed the decision by the president to accord Maape the special provincial funeral. “Maape was a committed compatriot who dedicated his entire life to the struggle for a democratic and prosperous country. He epitomised selflessness and servitude in the execution of our liberation course.

“As the provincial government, we respectfully came here to pay homage to one of our greatest stalwarts. He was one of the leaders who recruited young people from Kimberley, De Aar, Vryburg, and Mahikeng and took them into exile.”

Besides his political activism, he was also incarcerated at Robben Island, and when he came back, he contributed in 1994 to establishing the government, he said.

North West political analyst Prof. André Duvenhage said Maape emerged at a time when the province was facing deep instability and governance challenges.

“The North West provincial administration was, in many ways, a failing administration,” said Duvenhage. “There were several reasons for that, including a very unstable ANC environment.”

The stalwart and former political prisoner passed away at the Life Brenthurst Hospital in Parktown, Johannesburg, last Saturday, following a short illness.

During his term, he suffered a stroke that cut short his time as the government leader in the North West. He was also a former ANC regional leader in Kgalagadi, and later led the province as premier, taking over after Job Mokgoro stepped down.

Duvenhage added: “I do not see him as a transformational leader, but rather as a transitional figure who needed to stabilise the ship under very difficult circumstances, which he precisely did.

“We must also take into consideration that he was at the helm of things for a relatively short period of time. Currently, the province is still facing significant political, economic, and social challenges, and it is going to be a huge task to turn the province around.”

Tributes continue to pour in for the former premier, who was praised for steering the North West through one of its most challenging periods of governance.

The family of Maape said they have lost a humorous academic who loved mathematics even as a young activist in South Africa’s liberation struggle.

“He actually liked mathematics a lot, but unfortunately, because of his arrest, he couldn’t pursue his studies in mathematics,” said Maape’s brother, Neo Maape. “He was very humorous, always joking and teasing us, and constantly playfully challenging us.”

OFM News/Zenande Mpame sm

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