Address by Hon AC Nel, MP, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development at the Hand-over of the Remains and Reburial of Mr Thabo Mosala at Menjini, Black Diamond Village, Matatiele on Saturday, 31 May 2025
The family of Thabo Mosala
Mayor Motlalepula Stuurman and all councillors present
Morena Sibi and all traditional leaders and members of the Traditional Council present
Representatives of the Eastern Cape Government
Officials of the Departments of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Missing Persons Task Team of the National Prosecuting Authority, and the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations of the South Africa Police Service (the Hawks), and Sports, Arts, and Culture
The community of Matatiele
Comrades and friends
We convey the warm regards of Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. The Minister is attending the funeral Isithwalandwe / Seaparankoe Gertrude Shope a lifelong revolutionary, a leader of profound discipline, courage, and humility who played a pivotal role in shaping the political direction of our movement and the emancipation of women in South Africa and beyond.
I request that all of us, except the family, rise and recite the preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa:
“We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the
supreme law of the Republic so as to:
- Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
- Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
- Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
- Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.”
The preamble to our Constitution captures the essence of who we are as a nation, and the kind of society that we seek to be and, indeed, must become. It recalls the letter and spirit of the Freedom Charter, adopted 70 years ago on 26 June 1955 at Kliptown that has guided our struggle to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South African nation.
It is these noble ideals that motivated Thabo Mosala, who we are gathered here today, united in our diversity, to honour as one who suffered for justice and freedom in our land. In doing so we seek to “Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights” also by implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Thabo Mosala was a political activist and a leader who was strongly opposed to the socalled “independence” of the former Transkei. He was detained on 31 August 1976 together with Chief Neo Sibi and others. He was detained for 87 days and died on 26 November 1976 allegedly due to internal bleeding caused by a gastric ulcer.
The February 1977 edition of Inkululeko, the underground publication of the South African Communist Party, carried a statement issued by the Party titled “Sham Independence”, which describes political conditions under which Thabo Mosala was so cruelly deprived of his life:
“Unwanted and unloved by the oppressed people of South Africa, shunned by all the world, the `independent' Transkei has arrived like a thief in the night. Matanzima's Bantustan has not obtained `independence' as a result of the demand or activities of any people's movement. The whole drive for Bantustan `independence' comes from apartheid South Africa and not from the African people themselves.
In fact, the Transkei is the only example in history of a people being forced to accept an `independence' which was not wanted and never asked for.”
It goes on to describe how, in order to force this sham independence down the throats of the people:
“…..Matanzima has been able to use his power to entrench himself in office and eliminate his opponents - sometimes physically by jailing them without trial, or destroying their homes and driving them into exile . It is noteworthy that the `independent' Transkei recorded the death of its first detainee, Mr Thabo Mosala, detained in Butterworth under the notorious Proclamation R400. He is alleged to have died `of internal haemorrhage caused by gastric ulcer.”
The life of Thabo Mosala recalls the words of former President Thabo Mbeki at the funeral of the late Secretary General of the African National Congress, Comrade Alfred Baphetoxolo Nzo, after whom this District is named:
“Alfred Nzo lies in front of us in his small house of wood, cold and still and without a voice. When he passed on, yet another great African heart ceased to beat. While he lived, he refused to allow that his people should be defined in any way other than the way they freely chose for themselves.”
The appendix to the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission records Thabo Mosala’s death in detention as follows:
25.11.76 Thabo Mosala Transkei ‘Natural causes’ Whilst the cause of his death might have been “natural causes”, the circumstances under which he died were anything but natural. The investigation into the causes of his death is ongoing.
It is this acknowledgment by the TRC of his death in detention that led to the investigation of the circumstances surrounding his death. In 2023, investigators from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI)(“the Hawks”) announced their intention to exhume the remains alleged to be those of Thabo Mosala.
His remains were exhumed by the Missing Persons Task Team of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA), assisted by the TRC Unit of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
We are grateful the Mosala family, represented by Thabo Mosala’s grandchild, Mr Moeketsane Mosala, for allowing the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to continue with the exhumation process. The exhumation process involves, amongst other things, the positive identification of the remains and cause of death. This is vitally important for a successful forensic investigation.
We know that this process is a painful and traumatic one for the family. We thank the family for their support and participation in the process that has led to the return of their loved one’s remains for a dignified re-burial. We hope that in some small way this contributes to: “Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.”
The words of President Cyril Ramaphosa during the reburial of the late Secretary General of the African National Congress, Adv Duma Nokwe and his wife Tiny Nokwe, on 17 April 2025, apply to Thabo Mosala as well:
“As a person, as an activist, as a leader, he was known for his humility and understanding, for his integrity and his unyielding commitment to the cause of humanity. As he returns to the soil from which he was born, let us embrace all that [he] represented and embodied.
At this time, when we strive to make a fundamental break with the many ghosts of our past, let us hold to the values that defined him and that make us so unique as a people: courage, empathy, understanding, tolerance. We still have many more journeys to undertake. Our freedom is not yet fully formed. Let us affirm that as South Africans we are all of the same soil. We will never renege on the promise of equality, justice and freedom for all, as promised by our Constitution.
We will continue to build a South Africa in which no-one – neither black nor white, neither woman nor man – feels themselves a pariah in the land of their birth.” Thabo Mosala remains a powerful symbol of resistance to apartheid and the Bantustan system. His fearless stance, rooted in the ideals of justice, human dignity and national unity, continues to inspire South Africans.
Thabo Mosala fought against the Bantustan system. We must honour his memory eradicating the legacy of poverty, unemployment and inequality that Apartheid and separate development left us. The sad reality is that former homeland areas remain the poorest and most underdeveloped in our country.
When we say, as the preamble to the Constitution says, that we must improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person, this also means accelerating rural development by providing better infrastructure – water, electricity, sanitation, roads and health care.
It also means fighting crime and corruption, especially gender-based violence and femicide. Morena Sibi also reminded us of the impact of stock theft. We have heard the appeal of Mayor Stuurman and the Mosala family for greater involvement and support from all spheres of government – national and provincial – to support local government through the District Development Model.
We have also heard the request for the renaming of a school in honour of Thabo Mosala. This reburial is a national act of remembrance and restoration acknowledging South Africa’s ongoing journey towards truth, reconciliation and justice. As we gather here today, we also remember two other sons of this soil whose remains were handed over for dignified reburial by their families: Motlalekhotso Sello and Sello Joseph Miya.
Motlalekhotso Sello of Mangolong Village was reburied on 31 March 2007. He was born on 6 February 1960. He joined uMkhonto weSizwe during the 1980s to fight for freedom. He received military training in Angola and the then German Democratic Republic. He died a hero’s death on 21 May 1986, when he and four of his comrades engaged apartheid security forces in combat at a roadblock in Makgobistad. Sello Joseph Miya, another resident of Matatiele, was reburied on 24 January 2020 in Durban after his remains were returned to his family.
He was one of nine Cato Manor community members who were executed by hanging on death row in September 1961 for their role in the 1960 Cato Manor uprisings. It is significant that of the remains of 76 people executed by the apartheid regime who have been exhumed and handed over to their families so far, 56 were handed over in the Eastern Cape.
The Gallows Exhumation Project was launched in March 2016 to exhume the remains of 83 political activists who were judicially executed. There were at least 130 political prisoners who were hanged for politically related offences in the period between 1960 and 1990, after which the death penalty was suspended. The state retained custody of the remains of the deceased, thereby denying their families the opportunity to receive or bury them.
The state buried the deceased political prisoners as paupers in cemeteries in and around Tshwane.
Of the 130 hanged political prisoners, 47 have already had their remains exhumed by other parties, groups, or individuals.
This reminds us of both the cruelty of the apartheid regime as well as the indomitable spirit of resistance of the South African people.
On 6 June 2025 we will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Constitutional Court’s unanimous judgment in S v Makwanyane which declared that the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and is therefore unconstitutional.
In her separate, but concurring, judgment Justice Kate O’Regan said: “The death sentence has been part of South African law since the colonial era. Not only has the law permitted the death sentence, but it has been regularly imposed by courts and carried out by the government.
For many years, South Africa had the doubtful honour of being a world leader in the number of judicial executions carried out. Although there is some uncertainty about the statistics, it appears that between 1981 and 1990 approximately 1100 people were executed in South Africa, including the Transkei, Ciskei, Bophuthatswana and Venda.
The death sentence was imposed sometimes for crimes that were motivated by political ideals. In this way the death penalty came to be seen by some as part of the repressive machinery of the former government.
Towards the end of the 1980s there were several major public campaigns to halt the execution of people who were perceived to be political opponents of the government. There is no doubt that these campaigns to prevent the execution of amongst others, the 'Sharpeville Six' and the 'Upington 26' were partly responsible for the government's decision in 1990 to suspend the implementation of sentences of death.”
In finding the death penalty unconstitutional she argued that:
“The right to life, thus understood, incorporates the right to dignity. So the rights to human dignity and life are entwined. The right to life is more than existence, it is a right to be treated as a human being with dignity: without dignity, human life is substantially diminished. Without life, there cannot be dignity.
Respect for the dignity of all human beings is particularly important in South Africa. For apartheid was a denial of a common humanity. Black people were refused respect and dignity and thereby the dignity of all South Africans was diminished.
The new constitution rejects this past and affirms the equal worth of all South Africans. Thus recognition and protection of human dignity is the touchstone of the new political order and is fundamental to the new constitution. The reburial of Thabo Mosala rectifies the indignity of his 1976 burial, which was conducted under apartheid-era restrictions that denied his family and community the right to mourn appropriately.
The work of dealing with our painful past continues through the work of the TRC Unit in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Missing Persons Task Team in the NPA, the Gallows Exhumation Project and the Exile Repatriation Project. The first group of 42 deceased exiles’ remains from Zambia and Zimbabwe were returned to South Africa in 2024.
Recently, the re-opening of the inquests into the deaths of Chief Albert Luthuli and Griffiths Mxenge as well as the Craddock Four reminded us painfully that our freedom was, indeed, not for free.
We also welcome, the recent historic judgment by Judge Dario Dosio in the Gauteng High Court, that those responsible for the murder of the Cosas Four in 1982 must be prosecuted.
Judge Dosio held that: "There can be no time bar [for] crimes against humanity [and] apartheid constituted a crime against humanity."
On 29 May 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he had signed a proclamation for the establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheidera crimes.
The commission will be chaired by retired Constitutional Court Judge Sisi Khampepe.
The Commission must inquire into, make findings, report on and make recommendations on:
- whether, why, to what extent and by whom attempts were made to influence members of the South African Police Service or National Prosecuting Authority not to investigate or prosecute cases identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
- whether any members of the SAPS or the NPA improperly colluded with such attempts to influence or pressure them.
- whether any action should be taken by an Organ of State, including possible further investigations or prosecutions, of persons who may have acted unlawfully.
- whether the payment of any amount in constitutional damages to any person is appropriate.
The commission will cover the period from 2003 to the present. The commission will be expected to complete its work within six months from the date of this proclamation and submit its report within 60 days after the completion of its work.
In establishing the Commission President Ramaphosa said:
“For many years, there have been allegations of interference in these cases. This alleged interference is seen as the cause of an unacceptable delay in the investigation and prosecution of brutal crimes committed under apartheid. This has caused the families of victims great anguish and frustration.
All affected families – and indeed all South Africans – deserve closure and justice. A commission of inquiry with broad and comprehensive terms of reference is an opportunity to establish the truth and provide guidance on any further action that needs to be taken.” As this government, we are determined that those individuals responsible for apartheid crimes and who were not granted amnesty by the TRC be held to account.”
He went on to say:
“This commission of inquiry is an opportunity to draw a line under a painful period in our country’s history. It is an opportunity to establish the truth and take steps, to the extent possible, to put right what may have gone wrong.”
The need to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights is something that must also happen globally, especially in relation to our Continent, Africa.
On 25 May, we celebrated Africa Day.
The AU theme for 2025 is: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
This initiative underscores the AU's commitment to addressing historical injustices, including the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialism, apartheid, and genocide. It builds on decades of advocacy and collaboration, aiming to foster unity and establish mechanisms for reparatory justice on a global scale.
We recall the words of President Nelson Mandela at the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) meeting of Heads of State and Government in Tunis – Libya on 13 June 1994: “The titanic effort that has brought liberation to South Africa, and ensured the total liberation of Africa, constitutes an act of redemption for the black people of the world. It is a gift of emancipation also to those who, because they were white, imposed on themselves the heavy burden of assuming the mantle of rulers of all humanity.
It says to all who will listen and understand that, by ending the apartheid barbarity that was the offspring of European colonisation, Africa has, once more, contributed to the advance of human civilisation and further expanded the frontiers of liberty everywhere.”
Thabo Mosala, son of the African soil, in life you loved your family, your country and its people, in death we honour you as one who suffered for freedom and justice.
Rest in dignity as we continue your struggle.
Amandla!
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