The Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, died on January 21st due to COVID-19 related complications. The Presidency made an announcement: “Minister Mthembu was an exemplary leader, an activist and life-long champion of freedom and democracy. He was a much loved and greatly respected colleague and comrade, shows passing leaves our nation at a loss.” Mthembu had tested positive on January 11 and he was 62 when he died. “Comrade Jackson died with his boots on,” said Jessie Duarte, African National Congress Deputy Secretary-General. Mthembu was very committed to his work, working so hard that he forgot the last time he was home with his wife and his first born child has been in prison.
I hate to see people so high up in governments contract the coronavirus because it truly does show that nobody is safe from it. COVID even got as far as the President of the United States, who was arguably the most protected and powerful man in the world. Mthembu seemed like an alright guy, so it’s a shame to see him die like this. After reading this article, it made me wonder if anyone else in the South African government has contracted the coronavirus yet, and they just haven’t shown any symptoms to spread it more. Mthembu was 62, meaning that he was just approaching the age where the death rates start going up.
In International Relations, we have discussed levels of analysis that an event can be scrutinized under. On the global level, we can obviously connect the coronavirus, as it has spread all over the world, not leaving South Africa safe. On the regional level, the Nigerian government could have been more vigilant with their testing, especially how they had a perfect showcase of how deep the coronavirus can spread within even governments; the example being the President of the United States contracting COVID. On the personal level, Mthembu could have gone in for treatment earlier than when he started feeling symptoms, and maybe he could still be alive.