Tributes at funeral of former South African deputy president Mabuza

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday led mourners in paying tributes to the country’s former deputy president, David Mabuza, who died last week aged 64.

A state funeral service was held for Mabuza who served one term as the deputy president of the country from 2018 to 2023.

His cause of death was not immediately reported, but local media said that he died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Johannesburg.

“He was a man of sharp intellect. He was a person who was pragmatic and he had a deep resolve on what he did,” said Ramaphosa at the funeral service held in Mbombela, in Mpumalanga province.

Political career

Also present at the funeral was former president Thabo Mbeki and opposition figure Julius Malema.

Mabuza's political support was critical for current President Cyril Ramaphosa to win the presidency of the ANC at the party's elective conference in 2017, and for Ramaphosa subsequently to become South Africa's leader.

Mabuza served as Ramaphosa's deputy and quietly left the political scene after he resigned in 2023, surfacing again to campaign for the party in the country's elections last year.

He was also the provincial head of the country's Mpumalanga province from 2009 to 2018.