Hero's funeral for fallen fireman

The member of the mayoral committee for public safety in the City of Johannesburg, Mr Michael Sun, told mourners that the death of fallen firefighter Meshack Muedi would not be in vain.

Sun, who was accompanied by senior officials and hundreds of colleagues of Muedi’s, officiated during the funeral of Muedi at Dzwerani on Saturday.

Muedi (38) worked for Johannesburg’s fire department and he and two of his colleagues succumbed to their injuries while fighting a fire at the Bank of Lisbon building in Sauer Street in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 5 September. The building houses three government departments. More than 1 000 government employees were in the building when the fire started.

On Saturday, thousands, including hundreds of firefighters in their different uniforms, and many community members descended on the sleepy village of Mahematshena to pay their last respects to Muedi.

Muedi was described as a selfless person who died while trying to save the lives of others.

The proceedings started with a programme run by the family, followed by a full brigade funeral, conducted by the fire department officials of the City of Johannesburg.

The funeral service was held in a big tent next to Muedi's house. Just close to the tent was an RDP house covered with a giant poster with the words We demand justice for Firefighters.

After the service at home, Muedi was finally laid to rest at the Mahematshena cemetery.

Speaking at the funeral, Sun said they were there to share the pain of the Muedi family in their time of grief. He said Muedi's death was not only a loss to the family, but also to the City of Johannesburg.

"To the community and the family here, please accept our heartfelt condolences and rest assured, Muedi's death shall not be in vain. His name shall be deeply engraved on the list of heroes of Johannesburg that the coming generation will know what he did for the people of South Africa," said Sun.

Representing the Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (Demawusa), Mr Terrence Kgaffe said the firefighters who died during the tragedy were gone but would not be forgotten. "To all firefighters we say, ‘Soldier on, despite this tragedy. Continue saving the lives and property in our communities and we are praying that there is no repeat of a tragedy of this nature’," he said.

Paying tribute to the fallen firefighter, the acting chief of the fire department of the City of Johannesburg, Mr Arthur Mqwa, described Muedi as a hero and platoon leader who led from the front and died to save the more than 1 000 lives of civil servants who were trapped in the building.

He thanked the family for giving their son to the city of Johannesburg.

News - Date: 21 September 2018

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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