Deputy President Paul Mashatile has described the late former Gauteng Health MEC Brian Hlongwa as a lifelong activist, political educator and intellectual contributor to the African National Congress (ANC) and the transformation of government.
Mashatile was delivering the eulogy at Hlongwa’s funeral service at Walter Sisulu Hall in Randburg on Wednesday. Hlongwa passed away on Tuesday, 22 December after a short illness.
He served as Gauteng's Member of the Executive Council for Health from March 2006 to May 2009 and was also a member of the African National Congress. He served multiple terms on the party's Provincial Executive Committee in the province.
Hlongwa, whose full name was Thamsanqa Brian Hlongwa, was remembered as a committed cadre shaped by the 1976 generation and the mass democratic movement of the 1980s.
Mashatile said Hlongwa belonged to a generation of youth activists, who combined discipline, political clarity and resilience during a period when liberation movements were banned.
“He was not just a foot soldier of our movement but an architect of the mind and a contributor to the politics of the ANC and the transformation of the Gauteng Provincial Government,” Mashatile said.
According to the Deputy President, Hlongwa’s activism was rooted in organisations such as the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), the Soweto Youth Congress (SOYCO), the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), which played a central role in mobilising communities against apartheid.
Mashatile said the banning of the ANC and other liberation movements at the time placed responsibility on youth structures to sustain resistance and prepare future leaders for governance.
Hlongwa later rose through the ranks of the ANC Youth League and served in various municipal and provincial structures, including as a member of the Johannesburg City Council and as Gauteng MEC for Health under former Premier Mbhazima Shilowa.
Mashatile also highlighted Hlongwa’s contribution to political education, particularly through his work at the OR Tambo School of Leadership. He said Hlongwa believed that the liberation of the mind was central to the broader struggle for social and economic justice.
“Political education for him was not about dogma, but about empowering cadres to think critically, lead ethically and serve selflessly,” Mashatile said.
He recalled a 2008 visit to China by an ANC delegation from Gauteng, which included Hlongwa, as part of efforts to study models for building state capacity. Mashatile said the experience reinforced Hlongwa’s commitment to strengthening political education within the ANC.
Reflecting on the current political landscape, Mashatile said Hlongwa’s life offered lessons for renewing the ANC and confronting poverty, inequality and governance challenges with the same determination shown during the anti-apartheid struggle.
He noted that the ANC’s National Executive Committee had resolved that all leaders should undergo political education, particularly in the context of coalition politics and the Government of National Unity.
Mashatile concluded by calling on ANC members to remain accountable to the people and to practise ethical and transparent leadership.
Addressing the Hlongwa family, Mashatile expressed condolences and thanked them for sharing their loved one with the country.
“While the nation has lost a leader, you have lost a pillar of your family,” he said.
Hlongwa was honoured for his contribution to the struggle, governance and political education. – SAnews.gov.za
