Jackson Mthembu’s wife Thembi has died

Thembi Mthembu, the wife of the late ANC heavyweight Jackson Mthembu, died early on Thursday after a short illness.

A top government official told the publication that Thembi never fully recovered from the passing of her husband.

Mthembu, the former minister in the Presidency, succumbed to Covid-19-related complications at a Johannesburg hospital in January 2021. He was 62 at the time of his death.

“When he died, he took a huge chunk of her. After losing Jackson, she was heartbroken. She missed her husband every day,” said the source, adding that stress might have been a big factor.

“She couldn’t imagine her life without her soulmate, it is possible that she died from a heart-related illness because the past few weeks she was in and out of the hospital.”

At the time of her passing, Thembi was working as a nurse in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga.