Death of young MK commander remembered
FOR the friends of Ashley Kriel, yesterday brought back painful memories as it marked the 31st year of the Struggle icon and Umkhonto we Sizwe commander’s death.
Kriel was shot and killed at the age of 20 on July 9, 1987, after apartheid police tracked him down to a house in Hazendal, Athlone.
Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) chairperson and Dullah Omar region chairperson Fumanekile Booi said: “He was a leader, a remarkable and disciplined person. He had a mature political understanding.
“He knew he was going to be killed. He had 48 hours to move but he didn’t, that is the true spirit of sacrifice. He was an example to his community.”
As a tribute to his memory, the ANC in the Western Cape said they would be arranging a special viewing of Action Kommandant, a documentary on Kriel’s life by Nadine Angel Cloete.
ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said: “He took a stance against the apartheid regime and fought for the South African people.
“He is remembered as a determined and gifted young individual who was taken from the world too early.”
The ANC Youth League in the Western Cape said they would visit Kriel’s grave at Maitland’s gate 5 at noon tomorrow to commemorate his death.
The league also called for the investigation into his murder to be speeded up.
Adiel “Gorie” November attended Bonteheuwel High School with Kriel and was recruited by him. They also belonged to the Bonteheuwel inter-student committee.
As anti-apartheid activists, they were shot at and hunted every day, recalled November.
“We never had a real youth. Our life was the Struggle,” he said.