Former Sars commissioner Oupa Magashula dies

Former Sars commissioner Oupa Magashula has died at the age of 63.

The family announced that he died late on Wednesday night after a long illness and an extended period of hospitalisation.

Magashula was appointed as Sars commissioner in 2008 and resigned in 2013 after an investigation into claims that he offered a woman a job at Sars without following procedure. At the time‚ then finance minister Pravin Gordhan said there was no evidence of him having committed a crime, but he had placed Sars’ reputation at risk.

According to a statement by his family, following his public service, he continued contributing to national development through various business and leadership roles.

“He will be remembered for his humility, warmth and unwavering commitment to South Africa and its people. He was a devoted husband, father, brother, colleague and friend whose generosity of spirit touched countless lives,” reads the statement.

Magashula initially joined Sars in 2006 when he was appointed as the head of Human Resources and Corporate Services and served on the Sars executive committee. He later took charge of an operational division within Sars responsible for contact centres, processing centres and delivery enablement.

Before Sars, he was HR director at Telkom.

In the early 80s he worked as a trade unionist.

In 1991 he completed a BSc (Oceanography and Chemistry) at the University of Cape Town and later completed business management courses at the UCT Business School. He has worked in the private sector both in operations and HR ― Nampak, Sun International and Anglo Vaal Industries.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

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