Well-known electrical contractor Mpfariseni David Swuhana (74) of Miluwani in Sibasa was buried at the Mbaleni cemetery on Saturday. The funeral was a celebration as mourners sang and danced throughout the service.

The funeral service was held at the Thohoyandou Indoor Centre.

Muendeulu, as he was affectionately known, who was a respected and admired business person and community leader, passed away last week Tuesday. The packed hall and some outside did not shed a tear as the family has requested that it be a celebration of a life well lived.

Among the mourners were colleagues from the electrical industry, Eskom, ZCC church members in their church regalia, local politicians and a Limpopo member of parliament, Ms Merriam Ramadwa.

The master of ceremonies was the recently appointed Judge, Tshifhiwa Maumela, who left the mourners in stitches with his jokes.

Speaker after speaker spoke of the passion Muendeulu had for electricity and for his community. Most of the early projects in the former Venda were undertaken by Swuhana.

He is believed to have assisted eleven contractors in setting up their businesses; some are flourishing and they are now big guns in the industry. Some of them also gave testimony during the service.

Swuhana was born in 1938 at Tshisikule, Miluwani. He attended school at Mphaphuli Memorial but could not go far with his education. He worked for  different companies in Brits and Pretoria before retuning home in 1960.

He was one of the first few people to be allowed to work as electricians in the former Venda government. He also worked in several countries outside the borders of South Africa.

He is survived by three wives and 19 children.