Speech by Minister Jeff Radebe, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, on the occasion of the handover of the remains of former MK soldiers, East London
Members of the Families of the combatants whose remains we are handing over today;
Premier of the Eastern Cape Province Ms Noxolo Kiviet;
Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thabang Makwetla;
Provincial leadership of the ANC and the Alliance Partners
Chairperson of the MKMVA, Mr Kebby Maphatsoe;
Representative from the Buffalo City Municipality;
Various government officials present;
Friends and relatives;
Comrades
Ladies and gentlemen;
It is with mixed feelings that we are meeting here today to handover the mortal remains of our MK soldiers. This happens at a time when we have recently lost the great leader of our people, Isithwalandwe uTata Rholihlahla Mandela Ahh Dalibhunga!!!. Today all our ancestors including OR Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Chris Hani and others are celebrating with us the fact that we have found the remains of our soldiers.
It is heartening to be addressing you the people of the friendly province of the Eastern Cape, the home of the legends, nina bantu basempumakoloni nibabalwe ngozalwa namaqhawe. I will be failing in my duties to honour fallen heroes if I omit the Ginsberg born son of this province Steven Bantu Biko, whose statue stands in front of this historic building as a reminder of the contribution he made in our struggle to dismantle the monster called apartheid.
In as much as this traumatic process is reopening healed wounds, please find peace in knowing that you are today finally finding closure. Let me remind us all that we are here not only to handover the remains but also to pay tribute to these gallant fighters of our freedom and democracy. This sombre occasion reminds us of the adversity that we had to face during the struggle for political freedom and very importantly, gives us resilience as we now we seek to consolidate the socio-economic freedom of our people. We are therefore inspired by the sight of these mortal remains as their fallen spears must be picked up to continue Mandela’s long walk to economic emancipation. Lamagorha alele apha ugqatso alufezile, ngamajoni afela emfazweni, ngoko ke sulani ezonyembezi These gallant fighters were militant and defiant to the end and died with their boots on than to be on their knees against the total onslaught of the murderers of the SADF.
Today I want us to take a deeper look into the historic circumstances under which these mortal remains are being handed over to their respective families.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was part of our decision as the liberation movement that it must constitute the foundation of our democracy. During the political negotiations that led to the 1994 political breakthrough, we were mindful of the various political instabilities that visited many former colonies post liberation due to their failure in addressing the demons of the past. Essentially the reasons for such political instabilities in many post-colonial societies were as a result of not fully addressing the legacy of historic oppression, socially, politically and economically.
The TRC recommendations in this regard were geared to fulfilling the vision of a non-racial, non-sexist, stable, peaceful, prosperous and democratic State from the point of view of reconciliation. Let me pause to ask a question, have we as a nation reached a point of nation building and reconciliation that the TRC sought to bring about. I am reluctant to give an answer to the affirmative in view of the recent events that are glaringly motivated by racist elements. However I wish to make a clarion call that we should never betray what these comrades fought and died for. It remains relevant that we continue to pursue a vision of a non- racial and non- sexist society as part of our nation building efforts.
As the national liberation movement, we continued to embark on comprehensive transformation of the South African society with a view to create what in our key policy document the Strategy and Tactics we refer to as the National Democratic Society. For the National Democratic Society to become a reality, it is through efforts such as those of these departed comrades whose remains lay here in our midst today.
Dear family members of the departed comrades;
Ladies and gentlemen;
It would be an injustice not to give account of the broad struggle to which these combatants dedicated their lives, more so on the occasion like this as we handover their remains to their families upon the completion of their heroic mission.
And as the TRC Chairperson, the Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu would also indicate in the preface to the TRC Report:
“All South Africans know that our recent history is littered with some horrendous occurrences - the Sharpville and Langa killings, the Soweto uprising, the Church Street bombing, Magoo’s Bar, the Amanzimtoti Wimpy Bar bombing, the St James’ Church killings, Boipatong and Sebokeng. We also knew about the deaths in detention of people such as Steve Biko, Neil Aggett, and others; necklacings, and the so-called ‘black on black’ violence on the East Rand and in KwaZulu Natal which arose from the rivalries between IFP and first the UDF and later the ANC. Our country is soaked in the blood of her children of all races and of all political persuasions.”
Ladies and gentlemen;
The apartheid regime passed a number of laws since the National Party took over in 1948 as a means to give the system of apartheid some semblance of legality, and these are laws which we have abolished since 1994. And the TRC Report enlists some of these repressive laws as responsible for the comprehensive oppression of the majority by a minority in our country and those were the following:
- The Population Registration Act
- The 1950 Group Areas Act
- The 1949 Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
- The 1950 Immorality Act
- The 1950 Supression of Communism Act
- The 1953 Separate Amenities Act
- The 1953 Bantu Education Act
- The 1959 Extension of University Education Act.
These are the laws that these combatants fought against, to ensure the freedom and democracy of all our people. This was basically the broad repressive environment occasioned by fierce State security forces brutality against the defenceless majority of our people notably starting with the Sharpeville massacre.
Daily our people were denied basic human rights and the result was the huge inequalities across race, gender and class that we are still grappling with. Thus today when we speak of affirmative action in particular and transformation in general, we refer to reversing this legacy which endured centuries but was intensified in the years of apartheid brutality since 1948.
It is very important that we demonstrate commitment to changing the socio-economic conditions of our people to ensure equality across race, gender and class, these being the main divisions by the apartheid regime to ensure its illegitimate stranglehold on our country.
Today it seems a luxury to be involved in the liberation of our country or in politics. This occasion reminds us that we dare not betray this noble historic endeavour that these heroes and heroines paid the ultimate price for. As the ANC, politics to us is the continuation of the liberation struggle to free our people from the legacy of apartheid and in that there is no better fitting tribute to these gallant fighters of our freedom and democracy.
As Solomon Mahlangu declared in the face of the apartheid gallows, indeed your blood too has nourished the tree that has given birth to the fruits of our freedom. In the same vain we undertake as your mortal remains lay here before us, that we will endeavour to ensure the completion of the struggle for which you died at the hands of the Bantustan Venda Defence Force and the atrocious SADF.
We know others have told lies that we have not achieved anything since 1994 as propaganda to demobilise our people. On the contrary our President Jacob Zuma has correctly pointed out an undisputed truth that we have a good story to tell ‘yinyani ke leyo’. Looking back 20 years, the ANC government, has ensured that South Africa has one of the best constitutions in the world which guarantees all our citizens basic human rights which these cadres did not live to enjoy. Our young legal system has received global recognition as seen in the recent UK High Court extradition order of Mr Shrien Dewani whose return to our shores is now inevitable.
This is evident as many of our people have access to justice. Furthermore, the 20 Year Review Report that will soon be made available for all to see, will indicate the huge strides we have made to improve the lives of our people to be much better than ever it was under the system of apartheid. The system of apartheid, which these cadres helped dismantle, has created immense poverty and inequality amongst our people which the ANC government tried to mitigate through such measures as provision of social security grants, application of black economic empowerment opportunities and land restitution. This is all due to the selfless sacrifices zalamaqhawe. Ubomi babantu baseMzansi Afrika buphucukile kunendlela yango 1994, akekho onosiphikisa xa sithetha lonto. Ndiyayazi akwanelanga kodwa kukhulu esikwenzileyo kwaye sisezakwenza ngaphezulu.
Ladies and gentlemen;
Please allow me to make few remarks about the identities of the remains that we are today handing over to their respective families for dignified re-burials.
This is not the first time we are here in the Province of the Eastern Cape for handover of remains of our departed combatants. This is actually the fourth handover ceremony of the exhumed remains taking place in this province since 2009. Remains already handed over in this province are those of the PEBCO Three and COSAS Two in Port Elizabeth, Langa Six at Cofimvaba, Valdez in Port Elizabeth.
The TRC list had over 500 names of those who died during the conflicts of the past. The MPTT has exhumed 96 remains and 69 of those have been handed over to their families for reburial.16 remains are still undergoing DNA analysis while 9 including these 5 comrades, are ready to be handed to their families. This leaves MPTT with over 300 remains of our struggle heroes and heroines whose graves are yet to be located, exhumed and given dignified reburials. Clearly ‘inde lendlela’, there is a lot of work to be done but as government, we shall soldier on fully alive to the fact that these cadres did not die in vain.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Before you, are five combatants:
1. Mlungiseli Velaphi (MK Mzimkulu Goduka)
2. Sizakele Buzo (MK Perez Nomvula)
3. Fuzile Zigoxo (MK Marvin Kgasupane)
4. Sipho Kolisi (MK Luvuyo Kehla)
5. Vuyani Goniwe (MK Jorrisen)
Ahambile amaqhawe masiwakhulule
Ladies and gentlemen;
These are the mortal remains of our heroes and heroines that we commit to their families! Their mortal remains shall be in turn committed to the soil of their forebears in dignity at last! Their fighting and fearless spirit shall however continue to propel us to greater heights as we seek solutions to the challenges of the struggle for the complete socio-economic freedom of our people. Soze siphele amandla
Allow me to express my gratitude to the families for allowing us to convene in this manner as we do this handover with the dignity that it deserves. A special thanks to the Premier, the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, the Mayor and the MKVA for gracing this very important event. Also allow me to express my profound gratitude to the TRC Unit, the Missing Persons Tasks Team, the Provincial Tasks Team and all those who have been involved in various capacities to make this event the success that it has been.
Enkosi
