Family speaks after Tshwane council 'you killed him' blame game on ex-mayor Murunwa Makwarela's death

The death of former Tshwane mayor and speaker Murunwa Makwarela, who at one time during his tenure was dubbed a “unifier”, seems to haunt the council as parties blame each other for his death.

Cope's Makwarela died aged 52 on Tuesday after a short illness. Though he was the only member from his party, he was influential in the Tshwane council and became a coalition governance kingmaker in the DA vs ANC rivalry. 

The DA gave the speaker position to Makwarela to please coalition partners ActionSA, the FF Plus, ACDP and IFP after the 2021 local government elections.

Previously the speaker was the DA's Katlego Mathebe but she was under fire for months from the ANC and EFF. This led to the council being placed under administration in 2020 for eight months and 214 councillors being out of work.

When Makwarela — an “apostle” and a genetic engineer who used to be an employee of the city — was elected unopposed as speaker in January 2022 he was seen as a unifying figure and managed to keep the troubled council stable for a while.

His misfortunes started in February 2023 when he jumped ship and joined the ANC and EFF coalition and beat the DA's Cilliers Brink in the mayoral election. A few days into the new role as mayor, the DA accused Makwarela of being declared insolvent (unable to pay debts) and alleged he submitted a fake court rehabilitation certificate to prove he was no longer insolvent to the municipality. He was charged with two counts of fraud.

EFF Tshwane regional leader Obakeng Ramabodu, during Thursday's council meeting, said the DA's accusations resulted in Makwarela being in a “depressive state”.

“Makwarela was a doctor and was an employee in the city who executed his work without failure. His only mistake was to avail himself to a position that was nicely planned for a white boy. When Makwarela was a speaker they were nice with him. When he went to a position of a white man they unleashed the issue.

“He was killed by depression and stress. He was killed by the attack he got from those who claim they loved him. They used Makwarela and sent him to the cemetery.”

ANC councillor Tlangi Mogale blamed the DA. “This is a result of those that are on an onslaught to butcher and destroy black in this country. That contributed to the death of Makwarela.”

The DA and its coalition partners denied this, blaming the ANC-EFF partnership for the alleged fake certificate Makwarela produced.

When Makwarela died he was out on bail of R10,000 after being charged with two counts of fraud in the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court.

Makwarela's family rejected claims he cracked under pressure.

Family spokesperson Abel Dube told TimesLIVE: “Makwarela was never depressed. What we know as a family is he had a short illness and collapsed. The doctors checked him and hours after that he passed on.”

Dube said the family would remember him as a selfless, jolly, academic person.

“He was a called servant of God. We would like him to be remembered as a man who was upright and loved people. A man who was a father, and regardless of whatever pressure you put on him, he was able to handle that.”

Tshwane council chief whip and DA member Christo van den Heever described Makwarela's death as unbearable.

“For those of us who knew him, worked, learnt from him and loved him it is unbearable that we will never see him again. We are humbled by the contributions he has made to society. We should choose to not wallow in despair but rather be thankful for the memories and times spent with doctor/speaker Makwarela. Our hearts go out to his family as they go through the grief,” Van den Heever said. 

ANC Tshwane chief whip Aaron Maluleka told TimesLIVE Makwarela's death came as a shock.

“He'd been in high spirits and continued to share biblical scriptures on his Facebook page which we followed. We didn't suspect that he might be struggling healthwise.”

Maluleka described Makwarela as one of the best senior managers when he worked in Tshwane. Makwarela first worked in Tshwane in 2007 as head of the agriculture and environment management department. 

“Makwarela was one of the best senior managers when he was head of the agriculture and environmental management. He scooped many awards for keeping townships clean and when he made a comeback as a politician he continued to be an involved participant in building the capital city,” Maluleka said.

Makwarela left the municipality in 2012, saying the ANC wanted him out of the metro. His exit started his financial misfortunes and he lost two houses and cars.

Maluleka said when Makwarela returned as speaker, he played a vital role.

“Makwarela played an important role in being a coalition member and serving as an impartial speaker. He juggled those roles in a balanced manner and respected the office he was elected to by council.”

Maluleke said his caucus believed Makwarela should have remained speaker and allowed another member of a minority party to take the mayoral position.

WATCH | Thursday's council meeting: 

TimesLIVE