New MP dies after inauguration

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Pretoria - Khellinah Shoba, who was sworn in as a Member of Parliament on Wednesday, has passed away.

She apparently died on her way back from President Jacob Zuma's inauguration ceremony at the Union Buildings on Saturday.

"I would like to offer the sincere condolences of the government and myself, to the family of a member of the National Assembly from Mpumalanga, Ms Shoba, who collapsed and passed on yesterday following the inauguration.

"We convey our sincere condolences to the members of her family," said President Zuma on Sunday.

Ms Shoba was sworn into the National Assembly earlier this week and it is understood that she died from heart failure.

Born on 29 September 1956, Shoba joined the ANC in 1990 and has remained actively involved within various provincial structures of the organization until her death. She was a committed cadre of the organization, a gender activist and a servant of the working class.

She served in various positions within the tripartite alliance, amongst others as the Secretary and Deputy Chairperson of the ANC, Provincial Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Union in Mpumalanga, Regional Treasurer for the National Union of Mineworkers and as a member of the South African Communist Party.