Hon Speaker ...
... ba gaTolo re re mahloko; mahloko ao t?wago go ANC yeo e bego e le legae la Ntate Tolo. [... our deepest condolences to the Tolo family, on behalf of the ANC, which was home to Mr Tolo.]
I got to know the late hon Tolo in the 1990s, when we were busy organising a sub-region in our region, which is today a region of Sekhukhune. It was then the eastern region of the Northern Transvaal, in the former Lebowa.
The late hon Bishop Jack Tolo was born on 21 November 1948, at Sekhukhune, GaMasha. He joined politics in 1968 and became a member of the ANC in 1977, and a Member of Parliament in 1994. Apart from his religious commitment as a Bishop of the Apostolic Church since 1976, the Late Bishop Tolo, a 63- year-old parliamentarian and church pastor, was married to Salome Tolo, and they had 7 children and 10 grandchildren.
The hon Jack Tolo ... o be a le motho yo boleta, wa go sega ka mehla, wa go loka le wa go hlompha bomme. Ka nako yeo re bego re hloma makala, re tlo aga selete sa ka fase ga selete sa bohlabela kua Sekhukhune, ke ile ka kgethwa go ba modulasetulo wa sona gomme Mme Salome Tolo, yo a bego a le mokgotse wa ka, a kgethwa go ba moswaramatlotlo. Re bile bakgotse, ba?omimmogo re thekgilwe ke Mohu Ntate Tolo. Mohu Ntate Tolo e be e le ntate - ba a hlokwa bontate ba ba swanago le yena. Ka nako yeo, dinamelwa di be di hlokega. Mohu Ntate Tolo o be a dira gore Mme Salome o ba le senamelwa sa go re i?a moo re tla go be re nyaka go ya gona ka dinako t?ohle.
Maolokoa a Cope le ba gaTolo, ga le a lahlegelwa le nno?i, le lahleget?we le ANC. Re lahlaget?we ke Mohu Ntate Tolo ka gore o be a le ka go Cope, feela o be o ka seke wa re ke leloko la Cope, o be o ka re ke leloko la ANC ka gore ke mokgatlo wo o ilego wa mo ruta dipolotiki, wa mo ruta bophelo. O bile yena motho woo go fihla let?at?i le a sepelago ka lona, a sa le motho yo a ratago batho. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[He was a soft-hearted and kind-hearted person with a sense of humour, and had deep respect for women. I remember when we were organising the formation of a new sub-region of the eastern region, I was elected the chairperson and Salome Tolo, who was my friend, the treasurer. We were friends and colleagues with the support of Mr Tolo. The late Mr Tolo was an ideal father - very few can be like him. At that time the transport system was a problem, and Mr Tolo would ensure that his wife, Salome, had secure transport to take us where we were going at all times.
To the members of Cope, and the Tolo family, the ANC shares your loss. Mr Tolo passed on as a Cope member, but you would have mistaken him for an ANC member, for it is the latter that taught him politics and life in general. He was a people's person and remained like that until the very last moment of his life.]
When I met the Tolo family in the 90s, the late Mr Tolo and his wife were people who were very committed to the ANC. When our icon, Mr Nelson Mandela, was released from prison and came to visit Jane Furse, Ntate Tolo had a musical band, and we all marched together to go and fetch Tata and take him to the venue where he was supposed to address the people. As a man and a Christian, Ntate Tolo was God-gifted.
I am so shocked to hear that Ntate Tolo was robbed and killed now, when he was supposed to have been killed then, when he had money, not today.
Mohu Ntate Tolo o be a bu?a Ngwabe, GaMasha. Mabenkele a gagwe a be a le a lesomepedi kua Ngwabe. [The late Mr Tolo was like a king at his home village of Ngwabe, GaMasha where he owned as many as 12 shops.]
Ntate Tolo had a musical band, buses and almost everything that anybody could wish for. He was the first person to have a car there and his wife also had a car. He used to make sure that the wife's car was always full of petrol. Very few fathers and husbands are like him.
I remember Bishop Tolo as a very happy person, and he respected women. He used to say, "I respect women because women are the mothers who can look after the children even when we are not there."
He once related the story that he was working as a truck driver and when he came home he didn't have any money, but his wife took out money and gave it to him to go and buy a car. That is how he got his first car. It is very sad to have lost Bishop Tolo in this day and age.
I remember him as such a happy person with his happy family. He was not even too lazy to cook. When we were organising, we would sometimes finish late, and since I stayed far and our transport was very poor, I used to sleep at his home. When we got there, we would find him cooking. He would dish up, call us, tell us to wash our hands and eat. How many fathers and husbands are doing that?
To the Tolo family, I remember Bishop Tolo as a happy person, always making jokes and being very supportive to women. He used to say, "I respect women more than myself."
I would like to say to his wife, children, family and friends, may they find comfort in having known such a wonderful person. Although no words can really help to ease the loss you bear, just know that you are very close in every thought and prayer. May his soul rest in peace!
Sithi akwehlanga elungehli. [We convey our condolences.]
Ba gaTolo mahloko, gomme ga a robale a khut?o! [Our deepest condolences to the Tolo family; may his soul rest in peace!]