‘Servant of the people’ killed in ‘hijack attempt’
Brian Sokutu
The ANC yesterday paid tribute to slain member of parliament Sibusiso Radebe, describing him as “a dedicated servant of our movement” who served in several structures of the party’s mass democratic movement (MDM).
Radebe died of gunshot wounds during an apparent attempted hijacking on Tuesday night in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg.
Police have launched a manhunt for two suspects driving a dark-coloured Ford Fiesta with an unknown registration number. They are believed to be responsible for the murder.
Another person, who was with Radebe at the time of the incident, managed to escape unhurt, according to police.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said the party sent its “deepest condolences to comrade Radebe’s wife and his family”.
“May they find solace in the knowledge that we painfully share their loss and thank them for having borrowed the ANC and the country this incomparable servant of our people,” he said.
The party was “in the process of notifying all the relevant structures of comrade Radebe’s passing and will make the necessary arrangements to visit the family”.
“We will keep South Africans informed about the memorial and funeral service arrangements, once they have been finalised by the family,” added Mthembu.
Radebe joined parliament in 2009 and served on the portfolio committee on transport. He was previously a member of portfolio committees on higher education and training, as well as energy.
Radebe, who hailed from Mpumalanga, played a leading role in several political structures of the MDM, which included the Congress of South African Students, South African Student Congress, Young Communist League and the ANC Youth League.
He was politically influenced by his parents. He explained during a parliamentary interview last year: “My mother grew up in Lembede Street in Orlando West, Soweto. Lembede is just a street above Ngakane where Nelson and Winnie Mandela lived, now called the Mandela Legacy House.
“My father was an ANC courier during apartheid days of underground activism.
“I became [politically] active in 1987 when my house was raided and my two siblings – Lesedi and Arthur – were taken away by the special branch.” – additional reporting ANA