‘I have done everything I wanted to achieve, just give me a decent burial’: Tito Mboweni’s wish

As tributes continue to pour in for late former finance minister and South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni, an old tweet from 2018 has resurfaced revealing his wishes when he could no longer breathe.

Mboweni passed away on Saturday night after a short illness at the age of 65.

In the tweet, Mboweni shared a conversation with his son in which he expressed contentment with his life's achievements.

“My son saw my earlier tweet, and he asked: 'What else do you want to do?'” the tweet read. 

“Nothing. I have done everything a reasonable human being would have wanted to achieve in life. Just give me a decent burial when my time comes to go. He said, 'you are going nowhere' .That’s nice from him,” he wrote.  

While extremely private about his family, Mboweni shared many light-hearted moments with his 1.5-million followers on social media. Some enjoyed his commentary on political developments, others followed him for his sense of humour.

Mboweni served as finance minister from 2018 to 2021. He was the eighth governor of the Reserve Bank and was the first black South African to hold the post from 1999 to 2009. Before that, he served as labour minister from 1994 to 1999.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described Mboweni's passing as a great loss, while the ANC commended his life as a testament to sacrifice, dedication and selfless service to the people of South Africa. The Reserve Bank paid tribute to Mboweni, acknowledging his invaluable contributions during his tenure as governor.