An elder in the HCC departs

The Holiness Church of Christ is in mourning, following the death of an 83-year-old elder in the church, Mme-ṱhoho Vho Shonisani Anniekie Mariba Makhitha, who passed away in the early hours of Saturday.

Makhitha, who joined the church in the early 1950s, was an active member and mother in the church for over five decades. She attended the services at the church's headquarters in Phadzima, where she was also a resident at Mazhazhani in the Vhulaudzi area. She also liked visiting all other branches of the church, speaking about sharing the Word of God with fellow congregants.

“She died of natural causes,” said the family's spokesperson and the deceased's son, Vhafunzi Solomon Makhitha. “We are happy as a family that she lived up to 83 – it really tells that God's grace was on her.”

He said that he deceased would be remembered for being open and vocal when things were not being done in the correct way. "She was one old lady who couldn't keep her feelings or opinions hidden," he said. “She had always admonished and rebuked where it was due.”

He stated that she spent most of her years working in the kitchen as a domestic worker. “She spoke Afrikaans with good flair – and whenever she was angry or excited by something, she would switch to Afrikaans,” he said.

She had raised many children and adults in the house of God through the years. She was a philanthropist, both in the church and the community, who was also loved and respected by many people whose lives she had touched in one way or another.

Words of condolence continue to pour in from different branches and other churches around the country. Vhaingameli Vho Daniel Malange from the church's Tshiozwi branch said: “The tree in whose shade we were sitting has fallen; we are now exposed to the scorching sun. However, we take solace in the knowledge that God has done His will. May her soul rest in peace.”

Another branch leader, Vhaingameli Vho David Mbilinganye, said she was a brave woman who feared no person because she always wanted the truth. “She was a good driver who always confused people who associated female drivers with bad driving,” he said. “We'll always remember her for her kind words, good leadership skills and by her being a mother to many of us.”

She will be laid to rest on Saturday at Phadzima. The funeral service will start at the Holiness Church of Christ in Phadzima at 06:00.

Date:12 March 2018

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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