Archbishop Thabo Makgoba

 Honours Former Health Minister; Aids Victims

16 December 2009

Every death is rightly marked by sorrow and sadness.  Loved ones grieve that a life is ended, and all of us should pause to honour the passing of a human being who bore, as we all do, the image and reflection of the God who created us, and who never ceases to hold out arms of love to us, his precious children.  So our hearts go out to Mendi Msimang, widower of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, to her daughters, Zuki and Pulane, and to all who loved her and mourn her passing.  We hold them in our prayers, asking that they may know the tender compassion of Jesus, who wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus, and find him a rock of strength, and a true refuge, at this time.

The ending of a life brings the closing of the final chapter, and the pages cannot be rewritten.  Some of those pages hold accounts of many years of faithfulness to the ANC, in exile and on return. Others tell of a Member of Parliament and Deputy Minister of Justice who strove to pursue gender equality and ensure that Constitutional commitments found effective expression through significant legislative landmarks.  However, more recent chapters carry a tale that is at best ambiguous.  Therefore it is with aching hearts and deep regret that we recall those policies on HIV and AIDS which were for so long pursued by our former President and his health minister.  We also honour the countless thousands who in consequence died during this time, and stand in solidarity alongside those who grieve their all too often untimely loss.

But our God is also the God of redemption.  Though we cannot change the past, it need not hold us captive.  Beyond the cross of Jesus Christ, who shares in the fulness of human suffering, lies resurrection.  He continues to work for good in all circumstances, if we are prepared to allow this to happen.  So let us use the death of Dr Tshabalala-Msimang as a milestone on our journey, a signpost towards a future with an AIDS-free South Africa.  Let us go on from here determined to fight this scourge, and – through honesty and respect for ourselves, for our own bodies, and for others – let us take whatever steps are necessary to achieve this.  Let us commit ourselves afresh to test and know our status, and live accordingly.  Let us redouble our efforts to support all who are infected or affected, and to build caring communities that promote healthy lifestyles, healthy living, for us all.   May we all come to experience more fully Jesus own assurance, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’.

Issued by the Office of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, The Most Revd Dr Thabo Cecil Makgoba.

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