Cape Town - On Monday friends, family, dignitaries and academics gathered at the Every Nation Church N1 City in Goodwood to celebrate the life of the late AYO Technology Solutions chairperson Dr Wallace Mqoqi, who died last week of a heart attack.
Speakers reminisced about the life of Mgoqi as an academic, activist, friend and family man.
Mgoqi was the second child of the late Mangaliso and Florence Mgoqi, and was married to Dolly Mgoqi for 49 years. He was a commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality, where he introduced an initiative called “One Woman, One Hectare of Land”, a city manager and chief Land Claims officer.
He was also an attorney and advocate of the high court. As a prolific writer, he authored and published three books.
Mgoqi founded a prayer and discipleship movement for men called “Watchmen on the Wall”. This is where he gave himself to the discipline of men, training them to become faithful husbands and fathers, and good role models.
He was a founding member of the Trust for Christian Outreach and Education, later known as the Trust for Community Outreach and Education, which focuses on building social movements.
With his wife, they were among the founding rectors of the Isiseko Family Institute, a movement in family building.
Mgoqi was a member of the UCT council and a member of its board of governors. He served on various corporate boards including Safren, Old Mutual, Southern Life, and the Sekunjalo Group. At the time of his death he was chairperson of AYO Technology Solutions.
Sekunjalo Group chairman Dr Iqbal Survé described Mgoqi as “a gentle giant among men”.
“He was a loving person, always calm and a voice of reason, and he loved his family,” he said.
Survé said he hoped Mgoqi would be fine, and was shocked to learn of his death. To him, Mgoqi was like “the Martin Luther King of the country, a man of peace, God-fearing, and passionate about freedom, liberation, and the dignity of all of South Africans. He was a true Africanist”.
He said Mgoqi in his last months as chairperson of AYO Technology Solutions had to deal with a difficult “anti-progressive” press and media, which he said targeted him for his chairmanship.
“I’m so glad he was finally vindicated when the matter was settled, and when the matter went to court. And after that victory, Wallace said to me something important.
“He said, ‘justice can never be trampled upon. Justice will always prevail’. And so it did. And I’m glad for him because throughout all this difficulty, Wallace was able to lead that company in its triumphant moment, despite the adversities and the difficulties,” Survé said.
Mgoqi’s niece, Nolwandle Mgoqi, said her uncle’s spirit was always around, striving to make the world a better place, as witnessed by the roles he played throughout his career.
“He was a gentle soul, an energetic visionary, and an anchoring tower to the Mgoqi clan.”
She said his loss was deep and heart-wrenching for the family.
Public Service commissioner Somadoda Fikeni said Mgoqi personified selflessness and servant leadership, and never suffered from the “Me, myself, and I” syndrome. He was a development activist and the epitome of a family man, Fikeni said.