Repatriation of deceased student in progress
The Premier of the Free State, Ace Magashule, and the entire Executive Council, have joined the community in mourning the untimely death of Mbuti Twala, a second year medical student at ELAM University in Cuba, who died in the Caribbean Island on the Monday, 28 December 2015.
Following the saddening news, the Free State Provincial Government duly dispatched a high level delegation to the family home of the deceased to assist and offer the immediate with psycho-social services, including counselling.
"We mourn with deep sadness, a loss of one of our dedicated patriots. We send students to many distanced foreign lands, as part of our strategy to close the critical scarce skills gap, and it is our only wish to see them return to service their country and their people” said the Premier.
Government continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of this Free State student, who hails from Bolata, a village in QwaQwa, Eastern Free State.
The Inter-Governmental Relations Office in the Department of the Premier, working closely with DIRCO, has enabled the family to sign the consent form for the repatriation of the mortal remains. The Free State Provincial Government is in the process of fast tracking a Visa application for a member of the family to be accompanied and form part of the delegation that travels back home with the mortal remains. It is anticipated that this process will take about 10 days.
“To lose any of our students to death is too tragic to bear. We join the Departments of Health – both nationally and locally - in comforting the family, the colleagues and the Free Staters that knew and loved this patriot at this time of difficulty" concluded Premier Magashule
Please direct all media enquiries to:
Pulane Tsupane
Media Liaison Officer
Department of the Premier
Cell: 071 3022 595/ 073 195 6558
E-mail: Pulane.tsupane@fspremier.gov.za
