Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick “Terror” Lekota, former Defence Minister and founding President of the Congress of the People (COPE), will be laid to rest in Bloemfontein, on Saturday.
The President approved a Special Official Funeral Category 2, with Paul Mashatile, the Deputy President, expected to deliver a Eulogy at his funeral.
Mashatile wrote about Lekota, that he was “a veteran of the liberation struggle and former Premier of the Free State and inaugural Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.”
Lekota passed away on Wednesday 04 March 2026, at the age of 77.
The President directed the National Flag be flown at half-mast at all flag stations, until the evening of the funeral on 14 March 2026.
Pakes Dikgetsi, COPE’s Acting National Chairperson, said in a statement this week, Lekota was a “veteran of the liberation struggle, former political prisoner on Robben Island, and a respected statesman in democratic South Africa, who dedicated his life to the ideals of freedom, accountability, and constitutional democracy.”
He also said “Lekota represented a rare form of leadership in politics, servant leadership. He believed that public office was not a privilege to be enjoyed, but a responsibility to serve the people with honesty, courage, and humility.”
Picture: Supplied