President Jacob Zuma has declared a provincial official funeral for the reburial of the remains of Johnny Mfanafuthi Makhathini, an African National Congress (ANC) stalwart and national hero.
Makhathini's remains will be exhumed in Lusaka, Zambia on 20 February 2010, repatriated and reburied in Pietermaritzburg on 27 February. The President will attend the reburial service.
The South African delegation to the exhumation and repatriation service includes National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize and International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
The repatriation and reburial of the remains is part of the creation of new national heritage architecture for the country. This is to enable South Africans young and old to understand and appreciate the history of the country and its national heroes.
The distinguishing features of a provincial official funeral in this category are South African Police Service ceremonial elements as well as the half-masting of the national flag throughout the province on the day of the funeral.
Makhathini was born in Durban on 8 February 1932. He underwent his high school education at Adams College and went on to train as a teacher. He taught in his rural village, Mzinyathi in Inanda. He resigned from the teaching profession protesting against the imposition of Bantu Education and registered as a part-time law student at the University of Natal. He devoted the rest of his time to organising people as an activist of the ANC, becoming a key youth and student organiser around Durban and in the rural areas of Natal.
Makhathini was one of the principal organisers of the historic Pietermaritzburg conference in March 1961, which was addressed by Nelson Mandela and the highly successful anti-fascist strike of May 1961. In 1962, he was among the first group of volunteers from Natal to be sent out of the country for military training.
Makhathini was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. In 1966, he was appointed ANC Chief Representative in Algeria. In 1977, he was appointed head of the ANC Mission to the United Nations and later head of the ANC's Department of International Affairs. A tireless fighter, highly regarded diplomat and leader, he died on 3 December 1988. He was survived by his wife and a daughter.
Enquiries:
Vincent Magwenya
Cell: 072 715 0024
Source: Sapa
