People from across the Vhembe District gathered at Gumbani village, near Phaphazela outside Malamulele, on Saturday, 5 November, to pay their last respects to the late Vho-Tsakani Elizabeth Shibambu, who passed away in the Tshilidzini Hospital near Thohoyandou on 26 October after a long illness. She was 73 years old at the time of her death.
The executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality, Dowelani Nenguda, Collins Chabane Mayor Shadrack Maluleke and Speaker Thina Mbedzi, other councillors and community members from around Gumbani, Phaphazela and Mukhomi villages attended the funeral.
Shibambu was a staunch member of the Gumbani branch of the Zion Christian Church and was regarded as "the mother of the nations" because of her passion to help the people around her. She was also great at encouraging children to take their education seriously.
Shibambu was the mother of the well-known media liaison officer for the Vhembe District Municipality, Mr Moses Shibambu, who said that he would remember his mother with deep affection. "We grew up in a family of parents who loved God, and we were encouraged to go to church from an early age. My mother taught us to be serious about our education, always saying: 'With education, you can defeat the poverty which you are facing here at home'."
Moses remembered how, after he had completed his matric, his mother had encouraged him to further his studies, despite the bad financial state at home, and he had finally become a teacher. That was before he joined the Vhembe District Municipality in 2007.
Vho-Shibambu is survived by seven children, Moses, Patricia, Simon, Johanah, Amukelani, David and Elvis.