Former Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral committee member Zanele Mali-Sikawuti was remembered on Friday, not only as a pioneering EFF leader but as a champion of community service.
This came as party leaders urged supporters to honour her legacy by tackling crime, restoring neglected parts of the metro and creating opportunities for young people.
Mali-Sikawuti was buried at the Jubilee Park cemetery in Kariega on Friday.
She died on July 20 after a short illness.
Giving the keynote address during the funeral, held at the Swanepoel Hall in Despatch, EFF national chair Nontando Nolutshungu described the late Bay councillor as an honest revolutionary who gave her time, her life and her spirit to helping others and being of service to the people of her community.
“Fighter Zanele was an honest servant of her people who expressed her love not only for her organisation but her people with dedication and commitment to complement whatever task she was given," Nolutshungu said.
“She was a fighter in the truest sense, who even when faced with challenges and difficulties never shied away from being present and doing what was expected of her.”
The EFF leader highlighted Mali-Sikawuti’s trailblazing role in the party, saying she was the first woman EFF secretary in Nelson Mandela Bay and she was among the first generation of EFF members to serve on mayoral committees in SA, as MMC for electricity and energy.
Mali-Sikawuti first joined the Bay council following the 2021 local government elections, when the EFF joined the governing coalition.
However, in 2025, she was recalled and was appointed party whip.
Mali-Sikawuti’s father, Aubrey Mali, also previously served as a councillor.
Addressing the Mali and Sikawuti families, Nolutshungu said: “Your daughter was a blessing, your daughter was a gift and we’re truly thankful you lent her to us.”
She said Mali-Sikawuti symbolised a bridge between generations, linking the liberation struggle of the past with the EFF’s campaign for economic freedom.
“Zanele was a sign of a bridge that could be built between the old generation and the new.
“That there are ties between the struggle for liberation of the past and the fight for economic freedom into the future.
“If you wanted a living example of the coalition between the former liberation movement and the current economic emancipation movement, Zanele was your example because she had in her blood the liberation movement of the past and the EFF of the present.”
Nolutshungu urged mourners to honour Mali-Sikawuti’s legacy by continuing a life of public service, including working to revitalise neglected buildings across the metro.
“We must strive to build the dream of Zanele’s, which was for safer communities, free from crime, drug and alcohol abuse and extortion of our people by gangs.
“For Zanele to rest in peace, we must build a municipality where the youth are taken care of, where students aren’t excluded from teaching or learning, where youth don’t gather in taverns but rather in sport centres.”
Council chief whip Wandisile Jikeka described Mali-Sikawuti as a true servant of the people and thanked her party and family for lending her to the city.
“She was punctual and did not like to waste people’s time.
“She always stood up for women’s rights and would speak out against any injustices,” Jikeka said.
EFF national spokesperson and the party’s Bay mayoral candidate, Sinawo Thambo, said the councillor was a straight talker.
“She was not a fake person. If she missed you, she missed you and was extremely sincere.”