‘Beautiful friend and loyal comrade’
TRIBUTES poured in yesterday after the passing of SACP and ANC stalwart Kesval “Kay” Moonsamy, who died on Wednesday night aged 91.
Moonsamy, a former ANC MP, was described as a selfless freedom fighter by his peers and comrades.
Yogan Moodley, an antiapartheid activist, said Moonsamy was a “beautiful friend and comrade” who had entrenched non-racialism in him.
“He was a non-racialist, never believed in tribalism, hated it, racism and sexism.”
Moodley said Moonsamy, together with SACP leaders such as Chris Hani and Joe Slovo, was instrumental in rebuilding the SACP after its unbanning.
He was one of the 156 freedom fighters charged in the Treason Trial of 1956. In 1965 he went into exile in Lusaka, Zambia and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he continued playing a role in both the ANC and the SACP.
He returned to the country in 1991 and served as SACP treasurer, and in 1999 was elected as an MP.
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande, who visited Moonsamy last month, said the stalwart was very distressed at the state of the ANC, and couldn`t understand how the party “could sink to such depths”.
“It is comrades like Kay Moonsamy who laid the foundations for our democracy. We owe him and his generation a huge debt,” Nzimande said.
President Jacob Zuma also paid tribute to Moonsamy, saying his death was an enormous loss to the country. “He was one of the few remaining elders who contributed immensely in the liberation Struggle for our freedom and democracy”.
Former minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi, who worked with Moonsamy in Lusaka, described him as a selfless man.
“We were in the same underground cell in Lusaka. He served with distinction and was a loyal cadre of both the SACP and the ANC. I am privileged to have served with him,” said Ramatlhodi.
Moonsamy’s daughter, Ragani Naidoo, said her father had been ill for several months. She said that while this was a distressing period for the family, they were grateful for the support from the SACP, ANC, Cosatu and Zuma.
“Our father was an African and an internationalist devoted to the freedom of all our people. We have such pride in having shared him with the Struggle,” she said.
His funeral service takes place at the Clare Estate Crematorium at 11am tomorrow .