Death unites children for the sake of the late father

Unlike what happens in many polygamous families, where fights are the order of the day during funerals, the funeral of traditional leader Chief George Hasani Manganyi brought his children together.

The chief had five wives, 29 children and 34 grandchildren. He died on December 3 at Malamulele Hospital of natural causes.

The chief, who was 76, was buried at Mavambe village outside Malamulele on Friday. He ruled the area for more than 23 years as regent after the death of the incumbent. When the new chief, Patrick II came into power in 2006, he started a new settlement, George Hasani, and gave it to his uncle to rule.

At the funeral, Manganyi’s eldest son, Isaac Manganyi, asked his siblings to stand in line, holding each other’s hands, and they obliged. “This means that, although our father has departed, we must remain strong and united,” he said.

Isaac Manganyi did not stay with the other children. He was born in Johannesburg before Hosi Mavambe came back to become a chief. When he grew older, he came to Malamulele, looking for his father and since then they were united until his father died.

He is now a successful businessman in Midrand and he told his siblings: “You are a chain. If you are a chain, no one will break you and you will be strong.”

One of the children, Rinah Manganyi, said that their father would be proud to hear what was said at the funeral. “Although we had different mothers, he wanted us to be united and always come together when there are occasions like someone’s birthday.”

The secretary of Contralesa in Collins Chabane Municipality, Hosi Bohani Shigamani, said the late chief had been an interesting individual who had been a unifier. “He was highly respected by traditional leaders. During his tenure as chief, he was elected by traditional leaders in the whole Malamulele as chairperson of the Malamulele Territorial Authority,” said Hosi Shigamani.

News - Date: 15 December 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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