African National Congress (ANC) stalwart, anti-apartheid activist and former mayor of uMgungundlovu District, Yusuf Bhamjee died on Friday, aged 74.
Bhamjee represented the ANC in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Parliament between 1994 and 2008.
The family, in a brief statement, said the stalwart passed away on Friday after being hospitalised since Monday.
He will be buried on Friday at the Mountain Rise Cemetery in Pietermaritzburg.
His death comes years after his wife Sabera Bhjamee was murdered in her consulting room at the St Anne’s Hospital in 2006.
Conveying their condolences, the ANC in KZN described Bhamjee as a loyal member of the ANC and a champion of service delivery, saying he will be remembered for turning around uMgungundlovu District Municipality into a vehicle for the transformation of the lives of the people.
“As a deployee of the ANC, he used the office of the mayor to bridge the gap between the people of Umgungundlovu and prosperity," it said.
“Throughout the term of office, he displayed an unwavering commitment to make local government work better for the people," the ANC said.
“He integrated ordinary members of society into all programmes for service delivery. In the process, he left behind a legacy of making the local government sphere the centre of popular democratic participation," it said.
“He was always smiling, warm, and friendly to the young and old.”
He was also a sports activist. According to the ANC, he believed in the Rainbow Nation which brought him closer to late former president Nelson Mandela.
The party said he knew what Mandela wanted to achieve through sports shortly after April 27, 1994.
He understood that sports had the potential to unite the people of this country after years of tension created by the apartheid regime, the party said.
“It is not surprising that he was awarded the Andrew Mlangeni Green Jacket in recognition for his services to sports activism in the province,” it added.
The ANC further thanked his family for allowing him to serve the people under the banner of the ANC.
“We will always remember him for promoting a culture of peaceful coexistence, non-racialism, and political tolerance,” it said.
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