8 July 2006
The terrible and shocking news that His Grace the Rt Rev Sigqibo Dwane and his dear wife, Ntombezinhlanu, had been involved in a road accident and lost their lives reached me while we were in West Africa.
Even the physical distance from you could not diminish our acute consciousness of the intense pain you must have felt and continue to experience as you contemplate a life without such beautiful people as were Sigqibo and Ntombi.
Zanele and I and our entire government send you our most sincere condolences. We too share your pain at the untimely and tragic departure of your loved ones, whom you shared with our nation as a whole.
Their sudden departure that is difficult to accept, has created an enormous void in the life of our nation, their beloved Ethiopian Episcopal Church, the Christian and religious community in our country and elsewhere in Africa and the world, and many of us individually.
I have known the late Bishop Dwane for half-a-century. Together we were members of the ANC Youth League at Lovedale Institution 50 years ago, and served together in the Branch Executive Committee of the League.
Accordingly, Bishop Dwane has been, to me, a comrade throughout our adult lives. Through the decades, I have relied on him both as a friend and a life-long fellow combatant for the liberation and upliftment of our people.
I have deeply valued his views on all matters, never mistaking his quiet, reserved and dignified manner for lack of interest in the vital challenges facing our nation. I valued his opinion because I respected his commitment to the truth and his loyalty to principle.
I valued his advice because I knew that he disposed of a very sharp intellect and analytical mind, both attended by a humane and sensitive heart, great integrity and high and unshakeable ethical standards.
As we faced each challenging moment in the construction of the new South Africa, I have been greatly comforted and strengthened by the honest advice and heartfelt support that both Bishop Dwane and Sis' Ntombi have extended both to me and our government as a whole.
Their absence from the world of the living has brought me, and others who knew them, face to face with the realisation of how much we depended on them as a steadfast pillar of strength, and how much their friendship enriched and stabilised our lives.
Their wishes for the happiness of all our people served as a constant challenge to us who serve in positions of leadership in both the ANC and the Government never to betray the interests of these masses, and always to act as servants of the people.
The only solace we can draw from the death of our beloved Bishop Sigqibo and Ntombezinhlanu Dwane is the knowledge that wherever they are now, they will continue to watch over us and guide us as we continue to travel along the road which no one in our country has traversed before.
That knowledge comforts us with the realisation that though Sigqibo and Ntombi are no longer with us physically, yet they remain among us in spirit. We shall forever reach out to touch them and to listen to their voices.
We thank you most sincerely that you gave to the nation such outstanding patriots and human beings as were Bishop Sigqibo and Ntombezinhlanu Dwane, and once more convey to you our profound condolences and words of comfort.
We would also like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the Bishops and members of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, praying that they will have the necessary fortitude to absorb what is truly a grievous loss.
We are truly sorry that both Zanele and I cannot attend either the Memorial Service or the Funeral, as we will be in Germany to fulfil our national obligations as hosts of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. However, please rest assured that we will be with you in spirit.
May our dear comrades and exemplars, Sigqibo and Ntombezinhlanu Dwane, rest in peace. Farewell dear friends!