A bicycle which has been kept since 1948 by the family of the late businessman Hlanganani Solomon Khosa is being preserved as a reminder that hard work pays.

Khosa, who was famously known as Mathunjhani, died on January 6 and was buried the following day. Last Saturday, hundreds of people went to the household for a memorial service, which was unusual because it was coming after the funeral.

Family spokesperson Abel Khosa, Mathunjhani’s eldest son and a leading businessman in Ekurhuleni in Gauteng, said it was their father’s wish that when he died, his family should lay him to rest and celebrate his life thereafter.

Khosa said his father had kept the bicycle in the family’s supermarket so that everyone would know that the family’s business empire started from humble beginnings. "The bicycle was bought by my father when he started his business, selling flowers. From there his business grew and he later had a shop in Meadowlands. Because of the crime rate in Johannesburg, he came back to Malamulele in 1962 to start a business here," he said. The bicycle was also present at the funeral, just like it was at the memorial service.

According to him, his father was an entrepreneur and nation builder: "He did not was to be rich but wanted to create wealth for the community," he said.

All his children said their father did not want to see them hanging around but wanted them to work. "We thought our father was strict but we realized later in life that he wanted us to be responsible people," said the eldest daughter, Ivy.

The representatives of two schools, Mphakati and Vongani, said he assisted them on many occasions. Mphakati School was his initiative as he is one of the people who went to the government to plead the case for the school to be built, said school principal Godfrey Mashaba.

Retired academic Isaiah Ndhambi, who was once a lecturer at the University of Venda, pleaded that the family start a foundation to honour the deceased. He was representing a group of high-profile personalities from around Malamulele who included former politician turned businessman Edward Mhinga, who asked him to convey their feelings to the family.

Khosa is survived by two wives and 12 children.