Candidates must unite us

I WISH to take issue with ANC presidential contender Lindiwe Sisulu for her attack on the secretary-general Gwede Mantashe – in his absence – for his role in the struggle for liberation.

I can inform her that many of us were prevented by family circumstances from joining the fight for liberation. My father died at the time I was recruited and ready to skip the country.

When we talk of uniting the nation, yet raise sensitive issues such as these which will divide us along these kind of lines, we have not begun to grasp the essence of unity.

I can easily inform her that we carried out our individual escapades in the name of freedom – something confirmed in my literature, selfpublished since 2013. We did this because of our attachment to the struggle for freedom. We do not have to apologise to anybody, not even her comrades who may accuse us of sitting around doing nothing while they fought on our behalf.

What we need now is a comrade who will unite us as a nation across party political lines so that we can focus on developing this country. To me, the gender of this person is irrelevant.

Candidates must desist from raising such things if they wish to unite and lead this country. It is only those on personal campaigns to enrich themselves who will resort to such methods to promote themselves. — Mxolisi Toyitoyi, Dimbaza, King William’s Town

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