RIP Siyakholwa Mlamli

THE shocking news of the sudden passing of comrade Siyakholwa Mlamli has traumatised me and many comrades, especially those who every day shared millions of little things with him.

We will react this way because no one among us would have thought he would so soon run his last race given that he was young. Who would have thought of death when thinking of Siyakholwa?

I’d known Siyakholwa for many years within the circles of the movement. UBhayi was a very humble human being. I was privileged to have worked with him. I met Siyakholwa during the inauguration of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and we were both young, militant and fresh from student politics under the banner of the South African National Students Congress (Sansco).

The late cde Velile Vara Mpayipheli, cde Mpumelelo Sizawa, cde T T Nogaga, the late comrades B Z Ntsheqane, Polly Gabada and Nandi Nzamela informed us they had seen talent in him and that he had been mandated to lead Sadtu in Mthatha.

On meeting him, I saw a young, innocent man but as time of engaging in political sessions went on, I realised Siyakholwa was talented – articulate, militant, but calm in the way he would approach issues. At the time, issues like whether Sadtu was supposed to influence teachers to join a trade union because they were professionals, were being seriously contested.

Everyone would recall that Mthatha was then the capital of Transkei and everything about Mthatha then had an influence in all of Transkei. It stands to reason that to chair a Mthatha branch was a serious challenge.

The Principals Association was vibrant but very reactionary towards progressive forces. Principals would attend branch general meetings of Sadtu in big numbers. The aim was to prove to teachers that the unionists were liars, could not articulate policy issues and did not understand issues of national importance, in particular those that affected the plight of teachers, the transformation agenda and nation building in general. Siyakholwa rose to the challenge.

The Principals Association lost control of their membership because most of them joined the democratic forces. They did not only join democratic forces. They further convinced every teacher and principal to join Sadtu, and that Sadtu should affiliate to Cosatu and that teachers should vote the ANC to power.

To achieve this was indeed a mammoth task. I’m sure everyone agrees Siyakholwa and his collective were proven to be strategists and true leaders of our movement because that campaign was difficult in the context of our revolution.

Siyakholwa was then elected as ANC regional secretary in O R Tambo while still a regional executive member of Sadtu, by virtue of being the chair of the Mthatha branch. At the time, I was chair of Sadtu in the region and Mpumelelo Saziwa was a regional secretary.

Siyakholwa never undermined us. He continued to serve Sadtu with distinction while he led the ANC as its secretary. He used his position to influence Sadtu resolutions to be prioritised at ANC conferences until the Sadtu REC decided to release him to serve in the ANC full time. He then had to resign from Sadtu’s leadership.

To me, this is one of the testimonies that Siyakholwa was indeed a true cadre of our movement, a revolutionary par excellence.

Saziwa and I were members of the PEC of Sadtu as regional chairs and secretaries. Comrade Siyakholwa would brief us after every ANC PEC meeting on important resolutions taken by the PEC of the ANC and this contributed to making Saziwa and me privileged in fully grasping ANC positions and we would easily articulate them in Sadtu PECs. His briefing sessions were always informative and one would not doubt his capacity and understanding of ANC policies.

If I had time, I would write a book on the contribution of this dear comrade in the struggle against apartheid. I have many memories of his activism in the ANC and its alliance partners, but will leave it here and allow others to tell stories.

On behalf of friends and comrades, I wish to thank his parents, siblings, his beloved wife and precious children for allowing us to interact with this outstanding leader over all these years, especially the difficult years of our struggle against apartheid. He served his people with distinction. — Masiza Mazizi is parliamentary liaison officer for MEC Pemmy Majodina. He writes in his personal capacity

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