Salute real struggle heroes

Freedom did not fall from the sky but was fought for with blood, sweat and tears. These are the words of struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada, who sadly passed away this week.

He is among the real struggle heroes who sacrificed their personal freedom, losing years that could have been spent with their families while they languished in prisons for pursuing an ideal.

The real struggle heroes who did not mind that they were not celebrated on a daily basis because for them the mission was not about recognition but emancipation.

These are the people we really need to mourn when they pass because it creates a void that cannot be filled by the calibre of leaders we are cultivating today.

The South African political space has become so clouded with scandal, succession battles and power plays that leaders like Kathrada hang their heads in shame at the state of the nation.

Imagine the pain felt by those who sacrificed so much when they see the direction in which this country is headed.

We have let down those who thought about us even without knowing us.

Parliament is one monkey short of a circus, the judiciary has become the defender of the South African population against its own government and a game of monopoly played with the country’s economy.

As it stands, it seems the ones who fought alongside Kathrada and others forgot the goals of the struggle as soon as they were enticed with the smell of freshly printed South African bank notes.

Sadly, uncle Kathy is buried the same week that Finance Minister and champion of the economy Pravin Gordhan is recalled from the UK and is suspected of being at risk of being shuffled out of Cabinet.

This is the time for South Africans to question who they keep electing to power.

We have elected people who do not take seriously the sacrifices made for this freedom.

In Ahmed Kathrada, we buried a real struggle hero who must have died a sad man because the South Africa he worked so hard for is being tarnished on a daily basis.