Ramaphosa honours late business mogul Maponya with state funeral

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a special official funeral (Category Two) for Maponya.

Maponya passed away in the early hours of Monday 6 January — just a few days shy of his 99^th birthday.

The Presidency defines a Category Two funeral as one which “entails elements of police ceremonial honours in line with the Presidency’s state, official and provincial funeral policy for distinguished persons specifically designated by the president of the Republic of South Africa”.

The businessman will be laid to rest on Tuesday 14 January 2020 in Soweto. He is credited with paving the way for black business, having defied apartheid laws to build an empire which includes the Maponya Mall, located in Soweto.

Memorial service moved 

The Maponya family moved his memorial service to Friday 10 January to afford the public the opportunity to pay their last respects to the late business mogul – a day later than they had originally planned. The service will be held at the Rosebank Union Church.

“The memorial has been moved to this Friday and the funeral will take place next Tuesday. The time of the memorial will be from 10am until 1pm at the Rosebank Union Church”, said family spokesperson Mandla Sibeko.

Flag to be flown at half-mast

Ramaphosa has also instructed that the South African flag will be flown at half-mast on the day of the memorial service until the evening of the burial.

Maponya was a founding member of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) and chairperson of the African Chamber of Commerce. He actively sought to capacitate nascent black businesses and lent his support to entrepreneurship ventures, particularly in Soweto.

“While expressing condolences to the Maponya family and to friends and colleagues, President Ramaphosa said the Maponya name is a veritable institution in our public life, standing for excellence and inspiring generations of South Africans,” the Presidency further said in a statement.

Maponya’s last moments

Sibeko told The Star the business tycoon passed away peacefully, surrounded by his children.

“He was surrounded by all of his children, so he was very blessed because all of them were with him, even the ones who live outside the province,” he said.

“He was very jovial and he lived a really long life. Grandpa was a very active businessman, even at his age. He would get up every morning and go to his office.”