Death of Daswa was not in vain

PRESIDENTS Jacob Zuma and Filipe Nyusi on Friday inaugurated a monument in the southern Mozambique city of Matola to Umkhonto we Sizwe guerrillas killed there on January 30, 1981 in an attack by apartheid’s South African Defence Force.

Twelve fell there, a 13th later; two were abducted and taken back across the border into South Africa, where they were killed. Portuguese electrician José Ramos was also killed, mistaken for MK chief of staff Joe Slovo.

We join the neighbouring presidents and comrades-in-arms in paying tribute to the fallen.

“The apartheid regime once again showed its true cruel and inhuman face,” said Nyusi.

Zuma also sang praises to Mozambique’s founding and slain president Samora Machel.

His famous saying, “For the nation to live the tribe must die” came forcefully to mind two days later when in Thohoyandou in Venda, Limpopo, the Roman Catholic Church undertook “the momentous beatification of the late Limpopo school principal, Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa, who shall be the first ever South African to be referred to as blessed”, as Zuma put it yesterday.

Daswa fell victim to witchcraft, a witch hunt and ritual killing.

“This is a significant moment for our country and indeed the African continent as a whole,” said Zuma. “Such ceremonies are extremely rare in the history of the Catholic Church. We are truly humbled that a South African is being honoured in this manner.

“Mr Daswa was beaten, stoned and burnt to death for his beliefs on the 2nd of February 1990, the very date on which Mr FW de Klerk announced the release of President Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of political organisations.

“Mr Daswa lost his life because he believed in human rights and dignity and did not support the persecution of fellow villagers on allegations of witchcraft. Many people, especially elderly women, have lost their lives due to accusations of witchcraft in some communities.

“Such practices have no place in our country and we are happy that this is not widespread. May this ceremony remind all of the need to unite in fighting this dangerous practice of stigmatising and condemning innocent people, especially women, due to gossip and innuendo.”

As a preacher, Daswa was asked to contribute to a payment to a so-called sangoma who claimed he could sniff out the “witch” responsible for causing heavy lightning which had claimed the lives of several villagers.

Daswa refused to give a cent, declaring the lightning was caused by his God, not a witch. He refused to partake in a witch hunt.

On his way home from taking a neighbour to hospital, Daswa was ambushed. Although heavily injured, he fled to the village, taking refuge in the first structure he found, a shebeen.

But as he prayed and begged the shebeen-goers to save his life, they laughed and mocked him, telling him he should ask his God to save him.

A group of tribal terrorists responsible for the ambush caught up with him. With a knobkierie they split Daswa’s skull as he was on his knees in prayer.

At the beatification service yesterday, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa declared Daswa had not died in vain: “It must lead to an open discussion about ritual killings, witchcraft and witch-hunts, which do not define us as South Africans, but in fact debase us, make us sub-human.”

In other words, for our nation to live, the tribe must die.