Thabo Mbeki

President Cyril Ramaphosa has stressed the importance of South Africans recognising and honouring the former liberation heroes and heroines who have returned to their home country, acknowledging their vital role in securing the nation's freedom.

The President was speaking during the repatriation and restitution homecoming ceremony of 42 South African freedom fighters who lost their lives in Zambia and Zimbabwe during the apartheid era.

The ceremony was held at the Freedom Park Heritage Site and Museum in Tshwane, Pretoria on Friday with families of the freedom fighters present. 

The occasion was also graced by former President Thabo Mbeki, Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga, and the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie.

“South Africans need to know the names and appreciate the contributions of these returned freedom fighters. I ask that we read out the names of these patriots for all our people to know them.

“Their names will forever be inscribed here at the Wall of Names in Freedom Park so that we may never forget. Any nation that values its freedom holds its liberation heroes and heroines in high regard,” the President said.

The repatriation of the freedom fighters’ remains from Zambia and Zimbabwe forms part of the Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route Project (RLHR). The RLHR is a national memory project aimed at commemorating, celebrating, educating, promoting, preserving, conserving and providing a durable testament of South African’s road to freedom.

The repatriation initiative is part of a broader effort to bring the remains of freedom fighters who died in exile to their final resting places.

As the country celebrates the return of the struggle heroes and heroines, the President said through the act of repatriation, their citizenship has been reinstated.

“We return them to the land of their birth. We restore them to their families and their people. Decades ago, these freedom fighters left a country that was at war with itself.

“They left a country in which the fundamental rights of its people were brutally and cruelly suppressed by apartheid, which was declared a crime against humanity. Today, their remains return to a free and democratic South Africa,” he said. 

The President said it will forever remain a source of regret that they were never to see the dawn of the freedom to which they dedicated their lives. 

He emphasised that it was fitting that the country gathers at Freedom Park to honour them. 

“It is here at Freedom Park that we remember our struggle for liberation and the many men and women who fought so that we may be free. It is here that we celebrate the achievement of our democracy.

“And it is here that we pledge to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the fundamental freedoms of every person are realised,” the President said. 

Through the reparation of the remains of these freedom fighters, President Ramaphosa said the country is giving further effect to the Preamble of its Constitution.

He added that while these freedom fighters belonged to different political traditions, they were united by a common vision of a free South Africa. 

“And though they departed this life many years ago, their ideals and their values continue to guide the South Africa we are building. Their activism and their sacrifices continue to inspire our efforts to build a better life for all,” he said. 

The President extended his gratitude to the countries that offered these freedom fighters shelter, support and, in the end, a fitting resting place.

“We are grateful in this instance to the governments and peoples of Zambia and Zimbabwe for having taken great care of our compatriots and for enabling their remains to be repatriated,” the President said.

Preserving the nation’s liberation heritage

President Ramaphosa said government is making every effort to preserve the nation’s liberation heritage. 

“To do so, we must honour all those who authored this history by taking part in the struggle to free our country. This we must continue to do because our freedom can never be taken for granted. 

“We must continue to honour those men and women whose love for their country and its people motivated them to sacrifice their lives for freedom,” he said. 

The President spoke in detail about a few of the struggle horoes and heroines who were well known. 

One of the prominent names was that of Duma Nokwe who was the Secretary-General of the African National Congress at a crucial moment in the nation’s struggle for liberation. 

“In exile, he was a prominent voice on the continent and around the world in support of the cause of the South African people.

“It is perhaps a sign of his esteemed place in the history of the liberation movement that his remains were exhumed still wearing the ANC scarf in which he was buried in Lusaka in 1978,” the President said. 

Another prominent name is that of John Nyathi Pokela who was Chairman of the Pan Africanist Congress who spent more than a decade on Robben Island for his activities as a member of the Azanian People's Liberation Army, then known as Poqo. 

He is remembered for the vital role he played in forging unity within the PAC. He passed away in Harare in 1985.

Another prominent leader of the Pan Africanist Congress was Edwin Letsholo Makoti. 

He was a founding member of the PAC and was Secretary for Publicity and Information in the PAC Central Committee at the time of his passing in Harare in 1989.

The President spoke of the well-known Florence Mophosho, a stalwart of the struggle who is remembered for her commitment, sacrifice and fiery spirit.

“She was a great leader of our movement and a pioneer in the struggle for women’s rights. She helped us understand that no society can be free until its women are free,” he said. 

The name of Basil February is also written large in the history of the nation’s struggle. As a member of the Luthuli Detachment of Umkhonto we Sizwe, he was killed in action in the then-Rhodesia during the Wankie Campaign.

“There are other freedom fighters we honour here today whose names are not as familiar. And yet their sacrifice and their contribution to our freedom is no less profound and is no less valued,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

 

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