The Little Giant is no more

The passing on of political heavyweight Collins Chabane has been described as a huge loss, not only for the people at his home village Xikundu outside Malamulele, and for Limpopo, but also for the country.

Chabane, who was Minister of Public Service and Administration, and his two bodyguards died instantly in the early hours of Sunday morning when a heavy truck made a U-turn on the N1 between Polokwane and Mokopane. It is alleged that the truck was unroadworthy while the driver was also allegedly intoxicated.

His death comes hardly a day after he had addressed the funeral of Chief Magona. As if he had a premonition about his death, his address focused mainly on safety on the roads, where he warned people against driving long distances.

Chabane’s death has torn the hearts and left sorrow to the whole community who saw him as their saviour in terms of service delivery woes. When one enters Xikundu village, a hive of activity is quite visible. Cars with different registration numbers can be seen coming into and leaving the village.

On the newspaper's arrival at the Chabane household at Xikundu, more than 30 cars were parked outside as different people came to offer their condolences. At the homestead, family members and relatives were busy constructing a huge tent, while others were offloading many chairs from a truck - a clear indication that this will not be an ordinary funeral.

On the lawn under some big trees,  relatives, leaders of structures, including the local councillor, Joseph Mabasa, Malamulele striking task team commander Bejani Chauke and other influential people in the community, were conversing. Thulamela councillor Joseph Mabasa, who grew up with Chabane, said death had robbed them of a very humble man who was an icon in the community and South Africa as a whole. “We played together and danced together.

"Whenever there was an occasion at our homes, we would dance as youngsters to entertain the elders. Little wonder he later became a musician,” said Mabasa. He said even when Chabane left the country for military training, Mabasa was one of the few who bade him farewell and, after a long time, he welcomed Chabane at his Meadowlands home in Soweto on his release from Robben Island.

He said Chabane’s death left a void in the community. Traditional leader Hosi Xikundu was equally devastated and described Chabane’s death as a big loss to the community. “He would not come back or leave without paying me a visit, and we would discuss personal and also developmental issues in the village. There were projects which we were planning together - a school and a tarred road in the village. Now that he is gone, we do not even know what will become of the projects,” he said.

He said the community needed somebody like Chabane while it faced challenges of service delivery such as the lack of roads and schools. One of Chief Xikundu’s headmen, Norman Maluleke, known as Nduna Fikani, said they were greatly saddened as a community. “He offered us advice and now we are all the poorer without him,” he said. He described Chabane as a humble giant who was loved by all.

Tributes also poured in from all sides of the community. Well-known Rhumba megastar Zozo of the Sengere Super Beat, who shared the stage with the late minister, said he would miss him as a humble man who did not judge people. “We had projects lined up and we were hopeful that he would help in the fight against the scourge of piracy," he said.

In a message of condolence, Cllr David Mutavhatsindi of the Makhado Municipality said that he was deeply saddened and shocked "by the untimely death of an honest, competent and dependable servant of the people." He described Mr Chabane as "an organic intellectual who will be sorely missed."

Chabane, who was the Minister of Public Service and Administration, was a member of the national executive committee of the ruling ANC party and also served in the national working committee. He  was the first secretary of the ANC in Limpopo, and in the elections held every five years, he was re-elected five times.

He later went to parliament and served in several committees before becoming a minister in Pres Zuma’s cabinet. He was one of the people designated to write South Africa’s Constitution, having served on the management committee of the Constituent Assembly.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

♦ Chabane will receive an official state funeral.

Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj announced that Chabane will be buried at his home town of Xikundu tomorrow (Saturday). He added that the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all flag poles across the country on the day of the funeral.

During this paper's visit at Chabane's homestead on Tuesday, arrangements were ongoing and prayer services had started.

Date:20 March 2015

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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