On 21st January 2021, South Africa mourned the loss of yet another national treasure at the hands of the COVID pandemic. Jackson Mthembu will always be remembered as a noticeable South African politician who served in various positions at different stages of his life.
He served as a parliamentarian, a spokesman for the ANC, the Chief Whip of the Majority Party, and the Minister in the Presidency- a position which he served until his last day. Besides being a seasoned politician, the late Jackson Mthembu was also a family man, and more than anybody else in South Africa, his family was hit the hardest by the grief of his loss.
A year and a couple of months later, Jackson Mthembu’s family experienced a second wave of grief after his second wife also passed on. Unknown too many, the late Minister had been married before but unfortunately, his first wife also reportedly passed on several years ago.
Here is a look at the late Jackson Mthembu’s first wife, second wife, children, and the family he left behind.
Jackson Mthembu’s second wife
The late Jackson Mthembu, his wife and daughter, source: Twitter. Jackson Mthembu’s second wife was the late Thembi Mthembu who passed away on April 14th, 2022 following a short illness. Despite being married to a prominent public figure, Thembi Mthembu was quite private and chose to steer clear of the public and the media.
According to her eulogy, Jackson Mthembu’s second wife was a qualified nurse and as a member of the Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa, she had worked with various clinics across Mpumalanga. At the time of her death, she was a nurse at a medical centre in Tswane.
Who was Jackson Mthembu’s first wife?
Jackson Mthembu’s first wife was known as Pinkie Selolo, it is not clear when the two got married but according to sources, Jackson and Pinkie divorced in the early 1990s.
Very little information about Jackson Mthembu’s first wife is available online, and although it is recorded that she is deceased, circumstances surrounding her death as well as the date of her death have not been recorded.
Pinkie Selolo was the biological mother of Jackson Mthembu’s daughter- Nokhwezi Mthembu who reportedly committed suicide in 2019. At the time of her death, Nokhwezi who was a graphics designer had been 25 years old.
Jackson Mthembu’s children
Together with his first and second wife, Jackson Mthembu had six children. As earlier mentioned in the article, his firstborn daughter passed in 2019 in a suspected suicide. Not much is known about Jackson Mthembu’s other children although during his funeral a few of his children were present including daughters- Nokuthula Mthembu and Thuli Mthembu who spoke on behalf of her siblings during the funeral.
Thuli is a scriptwriter and holds a degree in motion picture medium from AFDA, Cape Town campus. The education details and any other details about her siblings have not been provided.
