MBALULA THE STATESMAN: "GIVE SHAKES HIS FLOWERS WHILE HE CAN STILL HEAR US"
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
JOHANNESBURG— In a political climate drowning in slogans and factional wars, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula last night chose a different path — statesmanship.
At the glittering Coach Shakes Mashaba Legacy Fundraising Gala Dinner in Johannesburg, Mbalula did not deliver a party-political speech. He delivered a national address on patriotism, ubuntu and legacy.
Dressed in black tie, measured and visibly moved, Mbalula paid tribute to Dr Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba — the 75-year-old football icon now battling serious illness — a man who has given South Africa more than five decades of service.
"For more than half a century, Coach Mashaba has served this nation with dignity, discipline and unwavering devotion, a true patriot whose life and work have left an indelible mark on South African sport and society," Mbalula said in his keynote, shared on his official Facebook page.
The moment that silenced the room was not about football. It was about how South Africa treats its heroes. "Too often we sing the accolades and reflect on the achievements of a patriot when they pass and can no longer hear our words waxed with lyrical prose and promises to carry on their legacy. Today we give Bra Shakes his flowers when he can still hear us," Mbalula declared.
It was a direct rebuke to a culture that buries legends with big speeches but abandons them when they are sick and forgotten.
The images from Table 01 tell the real story. Mbalula bending down, holding Mashaba's hands with both of his, looking him in the eye. Not a Secretary-General towering over an ailing old man, but a son bowing before a giant.
For months, the nation has known that the former Bafana Bafana coach — the man who fought apartheid-era football restrictions, who fought to qualify South Africa for AFCON 2015 when no one believed, who fought for township talent overlooked by the system — has been fighting his toughest battle yet: his health. And fighting largely alone.
Mbalula said last night: that ends now. "Our task tonight is simple: he must not fight alone," he told business leaders, football legends, and political figures gathered.
This is the Mbalula moment his critics did not see coming. For years they branded him "Mr Fear," the loud tweeter, the man of one-liners. Last night he answered them not with noise, but with humility.
He ticked the boxes of a statesman: Respect for legacy — he made the night about Shakes, not the ANC. Humility — he knelt to honour a legend.
Unity beyond politics — the gala united football, politics and business under one flag.
Compassionate leadership — he reminded the country that ubuntu still has a place in power.
In a single night, Mbalula did more to reconnect the ANC with ordinary South Africans than a dozen policy documents. He showed that leadership is not just about governing the future, but honouring those who built the past.
As the gala raised funds to support Coach Mashaba's medical care and his foundation's work with young coaches, one truth became clear: for the man who once lifted a nation, the nation finally lifted him. And the man leading that lift was Fikile Mbalula — not as SG, but as a statesman.
Comments