One month after the passing of MultiChoice Nigeria’s Chief Customer Officer, Martin Mabutho, his family, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate his well-spent life at an evening of tributes, memories and reflection.
The celebration of life was held at Landmark Centre, Lagos with his closest associates sharing their fondest memories.
Martin died on August 24, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa following a brief illness.
He would have turned 48 years old this month.
The event, on Saturday, tagged: “Memories of Martin,” was hosted by Chigul and Dotun and had in attendance industry leaders, dignitaries and public figures, including the Chairman of MultiChoice Nigeria, Adewunmi Ogusanya (SAN); CEO of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe; Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to Nigeria, Pule Mphothwe; popular comedian, Basketmouth; TV personalities: Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Toke Makinwa, all of who attested to Mabutho’s impact in his short but very full life.
Speaking at the event, Ugbe, who worked very closely with Mabutho, said: “When I went to see Thato, I said: ‘It’s you and I.’
“Martin was my brother and this is tough.
“It’s very strange to be talking about Martin in past tense.
“But if there’s one thing that gives me joy, it is that Martin lived a lot of lives.
“It’s really strange that he’s just 48.
“He lived a life that will take people several lifetimes to live and that’s why everyone has much to say about him.”
Shumani Gereda, a close friend of Mabuthos and a colleague at MultiChoice, also had many great things to say about him, calling him an “eternal optimist”.
Gereda said: “Martin was full of energy, full of life.
“Just an all-round very happy person.
“Looking at the life he lived, we can all agree that Martin was indeed a good man.
“The family he raised, the love he gave freely, and received in abundance from his family and friends.
“His was clearly a life worthy of a celebration of this magnitude. It was not an ordinary life.”
The event, which featured moving tribute videos from his family, colleagues and friends, was highly emotional but filled with laughter from shared memories of the time many spent with Martin.
There were notable performances from Wana Wana, Praiz, Cobhams Asuquo and Declassical Choir & Orchestra, which paid homage to Mabutho’s love for music.
Mabutho’s commitment to Manchester United Football Club was also recognised as Ugbe presented his son, Malik, with a framed and signed jersey from close friends.
As his wife, Thato, gave the last speech of the night, guests were reminded once again that Mabutho had a life well-spent, filled with love, laughter and nicknames such as Chukwuemeka (God has done great things).
In a career that spanned more than 20 years at MultiChoice, Mabutho kick-started his MultiChoice journey in 1999 and was later appointed Brand Manager at MNet in 2003.
He led the Marketing and Sales effort for DStv Mobile in Sub-Saharan Africa before being appointed MultiChoice Nigeria’s General Manager, Sales and Marketing in 2013.
In 2018, he was appointed Chief Customer Officer responsible for driving the MultiChoice Nigeria customer group strategy covering customer value management, sales, marketing, customer experience and care.
Mabutho is survived by his wife, Thato, his four kids and his parents.
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