Staff Reporter
Mike Mokoena, the late founder and chairperson of Free State Stars Football Club, will be buried today at the Utopia Cemetery in Morelig, on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
All flags in the province are expected to fly at half-mast today in honour of the veteran football administrator who was accorded a special official provincial funeral by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The funeral service for the late Mokoena was scheduled for this morning at the Methodist Church in the Bohlokong township, near Thabo Thokoza Secondary School, in Bethlehem.
Premier Sisi Ntombela is the only high-ranking government official expected to attend the funeral in line with the COVID-19 restrictions limiting the number of people who can attend a funeral to 50.
“In order to adhere to the current COVID-19 lockdown regulations, members of the community and citizens at large are humbly advised not to attend the funeral service, and utilise various media platforms to access the proceedings,” read part of a statement issued by the premier’s spokesperson Setjhaba Maphalla.
The distinguished football administrator died on Wednesday last week after a long battle with cancer.
Mokoena has been described as a selfless and practical leader who used his own resources to build Free State Stars.
He founded the club as Makwane Stars in the rural town of QwaQwa, eastern Free State, in 1977.
The team was to be renamed QwaQwa Stars and it was also nicknamed “Ea Lla Koto” by its multitudes of fans.
The Special Official Provincial Funeral Category 2 that was granted to Mokoena is given to distinguished persons specifically designated by the president of the Republic of South Africa.
It includes, among others, elements of police ceremonial honours in line with the Presidency’s State, Official and Provincial Official Funeral Policy.