Long wait ends for activists’ families
YEARS of being haunted by not knowing where their loved ones were buried by the apartheid government came to an end in Port Elizabeth yesterday, when the remains of 12 United Democratic Front (UDF) activists were handed over to their families.
The activists were hanged at the Pretoria Central Prison between 1985 and 1990 for what were then politically motivated crimes under the apartheid government.
The 12 included Lungile Rewu, 19, Sipho Mahala, 21, Thobile Lloyd, 27, Kholisile Dyakala, 33, Benjamin Gxothiwe, 27, and Zwelidumile Mjekula, 36, all from Nelson Mandela Bay. They will be reburied on Saturday.
Of the remaining six, Siphiwo Lande, 22, Tsepo Letsoara, 25, Ndumiso Siphenuka, 25, Makhezwene Menze, 44, and Raymond Welile Gwebushe, 29, were from the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, while Mangena Boesman, 37, was from the Chris Hani district.
They had all been buried in unmarked graves at the Mamelodi Cemetery in Tshwane.
More than 50 family members attended the handover at New Brighton’s Nangoza Jebe Hall yesterday.
For Kholisile Dyakala’s family, it had been a painful 32-year wait for closure.
His cousin, Fezekile Dyakala, 49, said the family was happy to finally get Kholisile’s remains for reburial.
“I cannot explain how painful this has been for us, but we are just happy that at last we have his remains.
“There has always been a vacuum in our lives,” he said.
The news had been especially hard on Kholisile’s widow, who had elected not to attend the ceremony, Dyakala said.
“When the people at the Justice Department approached us, we were blown away – and we are overwhelmed by all of this.”
In August, the families were flown to Pretoria and taken to the Kgosi Mampuru Prison (formerly Pretoria Central), where they were given a chance to retrace the 52 steps the prisoners walked moments before they were hanged.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha said the remains of 105 freedom fighters had been exhumed so far.
“The missing persons task team and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission unit have so far exhumed 105 remains – 24 have been identified and are ready to be handed to their families while 10 are awaiting DNA and forensic examinations,” he said.
“On the Gallows Exhumation Project, out of 83 of those hanged, the remains of 37 individuals belonging to both the UDF and PAC have been exhumed, leaving us with 46 [that must still be found].
“Today we are able to fully acknowledge and register our appreciation of their role in the struggle for freedom.”
The Bay’s sports, recreation, arts and culture portfolio head Siyasanga Sijadu – who was standing in for mayor Athol Trollip – also gave a message of support to the families.
“I am emotional and humbled as I stand here today because I feel that a boy has been sent to welcome men,” a visibly moved Sijadu said.
“I pray God heals your wounds and I also want to apologise on behalf of the apartheid government. “The
We are just happy that at last we have his remains
saddest thing about apartheid is that families were broken up and lives were lost but no one ever came to say ‘I am sorry’.”
Earlier in the day, struggle heroes Vuyisile Mini, Wilson Khayingo and Zinakile Mkhaba were remembered as their family members laid wreaths on their graves at the Papenkuil Cemetery in Korsten and Emlotheni Park in New Brighton.
Mkhaba’s granddaughter, Nomsa, said she was happy to see his contribution appreciated.
“This shows they are recognised,” she said.
The three were also executed in Pretoria, on November 6 1964.
At the ceremony, ANC provincial chairman Oscar Mabuyane said the provincial leadership was looking at ways to make the commemoration a provincial rather than regional event.
“These are the people who represented the aspirations of the poor people and so we cannot just reduce this to a regional programme, it has to be a provincial programme,” he said.