Well wishes for Jonas Gwangwa

Thursday, June 6, 2019

President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent his best wishes to activist, musician, songwriter and producer Jonas Gwangwa.

Gwangwa, 81, is currently receiving medical attention at 1 Military Hospital in Tshwane.

“The thoughts and prayers of all South Africans are with our beloved national treasure, Ntate Jonas Gwangwa, and his family. We wish him a speedy and full recovery,” the President said on Wednesday.

Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has visited Gwangwa and assured that he is recovering well and is in good spirits.

Gwangwa, a globally renowned jazz trombonist, is an esteemed member of the National Order of Ikhamanga, who was honoured in 2010 for his exceptional contribution to music and the struggle for freedom in South Africa.

One song of his that continues to reverberate with emotive melody is the aptly titled ‘Flowers of the Nation’.

Believing that politics and culture cannot be separated, Gwangwa’s total commitment to the struggle to end apartheid was thus intrinsic to his music.

So intense and rousing were his instrumental tunes, that the apartheid censorship machinery banned his records without bothering to check the lyrical content. – SAnews.gov.za