ANC STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF JOHANEESBURG GEOFF MAKHUBO
The African National Congress has learned with shock and sadness. the news of the passing of the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg who was also Regional Chairperson of the ANC. Geoff Makhubo aged 53. The Chairperson of the ANC in Johannesburg Cde. Geoff Makhubo. 53 was recently hospitalized after contracting Covid 19 and later showed complications that he succumbed to this morning.
Comrade Geoff belonged to the distinct generation of young lions who were vociferous in their fight against apartheid administration and its laws. As a Mayor of the City of Johannesburg he spent time serving our people . As a young man growing up in Soweto during the time when the struggle against the apartheid regime was at its peak, Comrade Geoff was inspired by how the people around him were selfless and waging a war against the enemy and he too joined in the fight.
At the formative stages of his activism as a member of Cosas he showed qualities of leadership which were later reaffirmed in various formations.
Comrade Geoff's activism was further fuelled when he joined the Black Students Society and AZASO which was renamed SANSCO while at the University of the Witwatersrand and later the ANCYL and ANC. He was a firm believer in education and only recently graduated with two Masters Degrees one from the University of Witwatersrand and another from the University of London.
Comrade Geoff believed activists ought to be educated to resolve the most complex and triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
He will be remembered for his unifying spirit, ardent love for young people and revolutionary zeal to better society.
The ANC conveys its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, the City of Johannesburg and the entire liberation movement. We hope they will find solace in the knowledge that the whole nation shares in their grief.
We wish them strength and fortitude during this difficult time.
Statement issued by the ANC, 9 July 2021
