Thabo Mbeki Foundation dismisses ex-president’s death rumours

January 4, 2024

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Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has been followed by death rumours since 2021

Foundation says its patron in ‘good health’

By Staff Reporter

The Thabo Mbeki Foundation has been forced to issue a statement dismissing media claims South Africa’s former president has died.

The foundation said Wednesday the 81-year-old politician who led South Africa between 1999 and 2008 was in good health.

“We categorically deny these reports and wish to assure the public that president Mbeki is in good health.

“We urge caution and responsible engagement with online information, particularly during a time when misinformation can spread rapidly,” said the foundation.

Even his Wikipedia profile page was updated to reflect the hoax.

It is not the first time the former leader has been followed by false death rumours.

In 2021, he was also rumoured to have died from COVID-19. The Foundation came out to debunk it then.

Mbeki brokered Zimbabwe’s now defunct unity government between Zanu PF, then led by late former President Robert Mugabe and late former MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.