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Eric “Marooi” Molobi 05.06.1945 – 04.06.2006 Eric was born in Alexander Township on 5 June 1945. He was the 2nd of five children born to Mrs Welhemina Majoele Molobi and the late Enoch Rampofeng Molobi. He married Martha Maleshoane Moleleki in 1969 and their union was blessed with two daughters, Lele and Tiisetso. Eric attended the Orlando West Seventh Day Adventist Primary School, and matriculated at Musi High School in Pimville, Soweto. After matriculating he started work at Philips as an electronic technician where his political consciousness was sharpened by the harsh realities of corporate South Africa at the time. He was a member of the Black Consciousness Movement where he played a significant role with his best friend Onkgopotse Tiro. In 1974 his political activities in the liberation struggle against apartheid led to his arrest and subsequent imprisonment at Robben Island under Section Six of the Terrorism Act. He was imprisoned for 6 years, during which time he obtained his BA degree through UNISA prior to his release in 1980. Upon his release Eric worked for MunichRe Insurance as a reinsurance underwriter and later for the Education Aid Program under Oom Beyers Naudé. Eric continued with his political activities which included being a founding member of the United Democratic Front (UDF), and he later formed the National Education Crisis Committee (NECC). He was the first director of the Joint Enrichment Program (JEP) initiative of the South African Council of Churches and the Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference. Eric joined the Kagiso Charitable Trust (Kagiso Trust) in 1990 as Chief Executive Officer where he was a key negotiator for the South African Partners in the European Union Special Union on South Africa. His role also made him responsible for raising funds from foreign government agencies to channel into educational and community development projects in South Africa. In 1994 he initiated the establishment of Kagiso Trust Investments (KTI) as an investment arm to support the work Kagiso Trust was doing. KTI together with its subsidiaries has grown to become one of the largest empowerment groups in South Africa, with Kagiso Media Limited being listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE). At the time of his death Eric held directorships in a number of companies, including Kagiso Media Limited (chair), Imperial Bank Limited, Imperial Holdings Limited, Metropolitan Holdings Limited, Mvelaphanda Resources Limited, Northam Platinum, National Housing Finance Corporation, Rembrandt Group Limited, N M Rothschild and Sons (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Compass Group and Steffen, Robertson and Kirsten (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited. He was a member of the South African Council of Churches, the President’s Advisory Council and the Council of the University of Stellenbosch. Dr Molobi was recognized by the University of Witwatersrand and awarded an honorary doctorate for his excellence in business in 2003. Eric was awarded numerous awards including: - 1990: The Kohl International Peace prize by the Kohl Foundation in Chicago for his work in helping to resolve the educational problems, particularly in Soweto following school boycotts in the late 1980’s.
- 1994: The Prestigious Ordre National de la Legion D’Honneur presented by the French Government for his work in promoting development in South Africa.
- 1995: Presidential Award from the Institute of Personnel Management as an acknowledgement of his role in people management.
Eric Molobi passed away at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Institute in Johannesburg on Sunday morning on 4 June 2006. He will be sorely missed by his wife Martha, his two daughters Lele and Tiisetso, two grandsons Kananelo and Gomolemo, his mother, his brother and three sisters as well as family, friends and colleagues. Robala ka kagiso Molobi wa modisa kgomo motlase oma tjobo
SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE FUNERAL SERVICE FOR MR MOLOBI ON 10 JUNE 2006, AT UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG AUDITORIUM, BY MR JOHNSON NJEKE - GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR - The Honourable Deputy President – Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
- The Family of Eric Molobi – Martha, Lele, Tisetso and the Molobi family at large
- Cabinet Ministers amongst us
- Friends and Colleagues
This morning we pay tribute to Eric Molobi, someone who inspired and brought out the best in many of us. Someone who cared to nurture and offer guidance to young people. It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with someone with such special traits. Eric was a warm person. He had time to meet anyone from heads of major corporations to ordinary people looking for employment or wishing to set up a small business. I remember when Fani Titi and myself had just joined KTI, Eric would request us to meet people whom, sometimes, we felt meeting them was unproductive. In later years we would discover that they spoke highly of KTI. Eric was a humble man. He always avoided talking about his achievements and this also included avoiding the creation of a public profile of KTI. On many occasions our directors challenged Eric on the low public profile of KTI and his response would be that our focus is on building value for our shareholders. He would say “If they are happy with our financial performance, then I am happy”. Eric could also be quite dismissive of people whose professional credentials were questionable by saying “Hey Broer that monkey is a spaza lawyer”. On Tuesday Roger said that Eric had the capacity to identify talent. You know, the funny thing about Eric is that he appointed us into senior positions and yet we were young (we may not look so now) and we had never managed any businesses, but Eric had high expectations of us and he trusted us absolutely. Eric was God’s gift to the Molobi family but because of his boundless love for us, the people of this country, we also lay claim to a part of him. Hence this loss to the Molobi family is our loss too. He lived a principled, rich and exemplary life. To my colleagues at Kagiso, as we bear testament to his life, we must remember that we are also Eric’s living legacy and, therefore, we must uphold his values and example. To Martha, Lele and Tisetso, KTI is your second home, your extended family and our doors will always be open. As we bid you farewell Broer on your final journey I would like to read a verse from a poem by John Clare – “Love and Memory”: Thou art gone the dark journey
That leaves no returning;
‘Tis fruitless to mourn thee
But who can help mourning
To think of the life
That did laugh on thy brow
In the beautiful past
Left so desolate now
May your soul have eternal peace.
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