Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Kgosana is hailed a hero at his funeral
PAC stalwart Philip Ata Kgosana was hailed as a man of many talents and a generous leader during his funeral service at the Tshwane Events Centre yesterday. Thousands of mourners turned up to pay their tributes and bid farewell to the Struggle stalwart, who was inspired by PAC founder Robert Sobukwe and participated in the 1960 anti- pass campaign.
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe and Gauteng Premier David Makhura also attended the funeral, which President Jacob Zuma declared as a “special official funeral”.
Dr Sam Motsuenyane, Kgosana’s friend in rural development, extended condolences on behalf of the Farmers’ Association, while another friend, Nathaniel Masemola, described the stalwart as a “kind and generous leader”.
“Ata was an exceptional human being, a kind, generous and unassuming leader. He was a tremendous inspiration to our generation and unemotional,” Masemola said. “He achieved a lot academically as well, and got a degree in economics and statistics at the University of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia, and another economics degree in Uganda, and also a degree in theology in South Africa.”
Kgosana died on April 19, at the age of 80 after a short illness. His eldest son, Mohlabani Kgosana, said his father was a man who lived to fight injustice. “When he saw injustice anywhere, he confronted it. We are at peace because he lived a full life and he has completed his mission,” he said.
Kgosana led more than 30 000 anti-pass laws protesters from Langa in Cape Town in a march to the apartheid parliament in on March 30, 1960. He devoted his entire life to the liberation struggle and served in various leadership roles in the PAC while studying at the University of Cape Town. Kgosana also worked for the UN for 20 years, and served as a councillor in the City of Tshwane representing Winterveldt.
His long-time friend, Lucas Molomo, said Kgosana was loved by all.
“Ata was the darling of the African continent. All Heads of States wanted to meet him. Emperor Haile Selassie invited him for talks in Ethiopia. Julius Nyerere invited him to Tanzania. He also went to London with specific information to inform the United Kingdom and Africa about what was happening in South Africa. Then he went to Ghana,” Molomo recalled. – ANA