SACP honours selfless ‘unsung hero’ Xolani Mbudu

THE SACP paid tribute to one of their “unsung heroes”, Xolani Mbudu, who it described as a “loyal and humble leader who selflessly served his constituency” in Khayelitsha.

Delivering the keynote address at Mbudu’s memorial lecture at Matthew Goniwe High School on Saturday, SACP central committee member and acting provincial ANC chairperson Khaya Magaxa said Mbudu gave his entire life to the service of the people of Khayelitsha.

Magaxa said Mbudu was the “brains” behind the establishment of the Khayelitsha Development Forum.

Mbudu was born in 1968 and matriculated in Willowvale in the Eastern Cape before he came to the Western Cape in the 1980s.

He started teaching in the Eastern Cape and later did a BA degree majoring in sociology at the University of the Western Cape, where he met his life-long comrades in the ANC and joined the SACP.

He went on to do his honours and masters.

“He played a very important role in academic choices of other comrades. He made a difference in me,” said Magaxa.

“Mbudu was a strong leader. After the organisation was banned he made sure the branches of the organisation expanded widely,” said Magaxa.

Mbudu was the first SACP branch chairperson in Khayelitsha.

“Unlike many other young people who came to Cape Town looking for employment, comrade Mbudu came to study. He loved music but he could not sing, but he was a speaker of note. Xolani was one of few intellectuals we produced.”

The ANC’s Dullah Omar region chairperson, Xolani Sotashe, said Mbudu would be remembered for his efforts to change the lives of ordinary people: “He played a vital role in liberating this country.”