Dr Tshenuwani Farisani laid to rest
Liberation stalwart and former Member of Parliament Dr. Tshenuwani Farisani was laid to rest in Maungani, Limpopo, on Saturday.
Dr Farisani was accorded an official provincial funeral by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in recognition of his immense political role in fighting for justice and equality for all.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered an eulogy at the Official Provincial Funeral of Dr Farisani, whom he calls his friend.
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“I first met Dean Farisani when he spoke at my high school, Mphaphuli. We formed an immediate and lasting bond,” said Ramaphosa.
“For many years we worked alongside each other in the Black Evangelical Youth Organisation.”
President Ramaphosa said that Dr Farisani, at the age of three and his family experienced the apartheid regime’s cruelty when they were forcefully removed from Songozi Tsapila near Louis Trichardt.
“From him, there was no contradiction between the teachings of his faith and the mission of national liberation,” underscored President Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa described him as a selfless servant who was never changed by the position he was deployed to serve the people.
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Limpopo Premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, also took to the podium, reminiscing about herself as a beneficiary of the love and fatherhood that Dr Farisani shared.
“Dr Farisani was not just a man of the cloth; he was a prophet of our time, a voice crying out for justice, equity and the dignity of all God’s children,” said Dr Ramathuba.
Meanwhile, the Tshenuwani Farisani Foundation has applied for the renaming of the Hendrik Verwoerd Tunnel on the N1 between Makhado and Musina to the Maneledzi Tunnel in his memory. Dr Farisani was born about 10km from the Tunnel at Swongozwi in 1948.
Reverend Dr. Farisani was a revered South African theologian, Lutheran minister born on 30 August 1948. He rose from rural hardship to become one of the most influential voices in liberation theology and the struggle for freedom in apartheid South Africa.
