‘Papa, it's now your time to rest’: David Mabuza’s daughter pays tribute at his funeral

“Papa, it's now your time to rest. Finally, you get your rest and have the peace you deserve. We love you,” a tearful Angela Mabuza, daughter of late former deputy president David Mabuza, said on Saturday as she paid tribute to her father during his funeral service.

The funeral service is held at Hoërskool Bergvlam in Mbombela, Mpumalanga.

“There’s so much that we’re going to miss,” Angela said.

“We’ll miss his presence — the way his entry changed the room, the sound of his footsteps, the look on his face when something wasn’t right, that sharp, sinking silence before he would simply ask, ‘What’s the problem?’

“We’ll miss his laughter, especially when it came from deep within and reached all the way to his eyes. Those moments were rare and unforgettable.”

Angela described her father as a man of discipline and impeccable style.

“We’ll miss his immaculate suits. His socks were always hidden, his shoes polished, his posture strong and unshakable. Dad didn’t walk - he moved with purpose, with direction.”

She said Mabuza lived as though he had a calling,  because he did.

“That purpose carried him through every room, every role, every day. Dad was also never casual about parenting,” she said. 

“He wanted us to become people of substance, people who could stand tall, though without arrogance… people who knew what they stood for and who they stood beside.”

Angela recalled how her father supported every dream they brought to him - sometimes with enthusiasm, other times with just a nod of quiet approval.

“He let us try. ‘Go for it,’ he’d say. And we did, because he believed in us long before we believed in ourselves,” she said. 

“More than grief, what we feel is gratitude.”

“Gratitude that we were loved so deeply by such a rare man. Gratitude for the lessons, the standards, the strength, and the example. Gratitude for the honor of calling him Dad.”

Angela said Mabuza taught them that every move matters, that a name must mean something, and that they should never walk past someone they could help.

“If you face (a challenge) with discipline, humility and heart, you’ll succeed,” she said. 

“And so today, we stand with our shoulders back and chin up, just as he taught us.”

“Papa, it’s now your time to rest. Finally, you get your rest and have the peace you deserve. We love you, and we’ll keep you alive in us by living what you taught us,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Mabuza’s son, Mxolisi, also spoke at the funeral, remembering his father’s passion for education.

“Education was one of our father’s greatest passions,” he said. “He spoke about it constantly as a tool for success and the foundation for freedom.”

“He called our report cards ‘magic tickets’… not because they guaranteed gifts, but because they represented effort, discipline and freedom.”

Mxolisi said that when they did well in school, their father would ask, “Did you do your best?” And if they said yes, he believed them.

“He didn’t reward results alone… he really rewarded effort. But even when we scored high, he never praised too much,” Mxolisi said. 

“If we came home with a beaming 90%, he’d raise an eyebrow and say, ‘Manje, the 10%, uyisiyele bani?’” (Now, who did you leave that 10% for?)

“In his eyes, there was always room to grow, always a high level of excellence,” he said. “But underneath that was a belief in us so steady that it never had to be loud.”

David Mabuza died on Thursday, July 3, at a hospital in Johannesburg due to breathing difficulties. He was 64.

President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that Mabuza’s funeral would be held in accordance with the protocols of a State Funeral Category 2.

Ramaphosa is set to deliver a eulogy at the state funeral of his former deputy President.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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