City Press political editor Jimmy Seepe has died, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Tuesday.
Seepe died in the Tshepo-Themba Clinic in Dobsonville, Soweto, where he had been in a coma since collapsing at his home in Pimville last month.
His brother, Professor Sipho Seepe, said a ruptured blood vessel caused extensive bleeding on the brain.
Mathatha Tsedu, editor of the City Press, told the Mail & Guardian Online on Tuesday that Seepe was ”a very jovial person” who was well-connected politically.
”Jimmy was very experienced and a loss of that kind of experience to us is huge. Political journalism in this country can’t afford to lose this kind of experience,” he said.
The African National Congress extended their condolences to Seepe’s family, friends and colleagues in a statement early on Tuesday.
The statement said: ”Seepe will be remembered as a hard-working and provocative journalist who was always concerned about stories that affected the ordinary masses of our country. His determination to see the media used as a vehicle for information, education and vibrant debate earned him the respect of many within the ANC and across society.”
Seepe worked at the Sowetan and New Nation prior to working for the City Press in 2001.
A memorial service will be held at the SABC auditorium on Thursday May 11 at 1pm.
Seepe’s funeral will take place on Saturday 13 May at the Johannesburg University Campus in Soweto at 10am.
Seepe leaves a wife, Ntombi, and four children, two boys and two girls. — Sapa