JOHANNESBURG – President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the late Professor Sibusiso Bengu, South Africa’s first Minister of Education in the democratic era, will receive a Special Official Funeral Category 2. Bengu, who passed away on December 30, 2024, at the age of 90, will be honored with the funeral at the University of Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, January 10, 2025. The ceremony will include ceremonial elements from the South African Police Service.
President Ramaphosa has extended his deepest condolences to Bengu’s family and praised the late professor’s significant contributions to South Africa’s education system. As the first Education Minister of democratic South Africa, Bengu was instrumental in transforming the education system, uniting 17 fragmented departments into one cohesive structure, and addressing the inequities left by apartheid.
Bengu also played a key role in shaping South Africa’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme, which succeeded the Tertiary Education Fund. President Ramaphosa acknowledged his pioneering leadership during the first Government of National Unity, a period marked by deep divisions over education transformation.
In recognition of his lasting impact, the President has directed that the National Flag be flown at half-mast from January 7, 2025, until the evening of Bengu’s funeral.
Bengu is survived by his wife, Mama Funeka Bengu, their children, and grandchildren.
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