South Africa
SA businessman Richard Maponya has died aged 99 - family─── 10:50 Mon, 06 Jan 2020
Prominent South African businessman Richard Maponya died aged 99 early on Monday after a short illness, his family said.
In a brief statement, family spokesman Mandla Sibeko said funeral arrangements would be announced in due course and asked for privacy.
Speaking separately on local radio, Sibeko said Maponya's death was a shock to the family as he was "the kind of man who was working every day and he was still working at 99-years-old".
Popularly known as the father of black retail in South Africa, Maponya defied the restrictions of decades-long white apartheid rule to build a business empire, culminating in the opening of the Maponya mall in the sprawling Soweto township in 2007 which boasts more than 200 stores and a cinema complex.
African News Agency
