‘Declare Kriel’s murder scene a heritage site’
THE family of Struggle hero and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) guerrilla Ashley Kriel has thrown their weight behind efforts to declare the scene where he was murdered a heritage site.
Yesterday marked 30 years since Kriel, only 20 years old, was shot dead in a house in Athlone on July 9, 1987.
During the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, security police officer Jeffrey Benzien admitted shooting Kriel in the back while Kriel was handcuffed. Benzien was granted amnesty in 1999.
Kriel’s family, with members of Dullah Omar region MK veterans, paid a visit to Kriel’s grave site in Maitland cemetery to commemorate the 30th anniversary yesterday.
Kriel’s sister Melanie Adams said they welcomed the MK veterans’ efforts to declare the murder scene a heritage site.
“We have children of today who do not have any heroes or idols to look up to.
“So we need to uplift and uphold his legacy, like Anton Fransch, Robert Waterwitch, Coline Williams and so many others who had fallen in order for our youth to know there was a ‘guy who died for me and sacrificed for me’ in order to have the freedom we have today…
“We should also take forward his fight in a different fashion against violence and drug abuse,” said Adams.
Dullah Omar Region MK Veterans Association chairperson Fumanekile Booi said the association would negotiate with the owners of the house in the coming weeks.
“We have not celebrated his life enough. It’s not only Ashley… Heroes of the revolution are not celebrated in the manner expected…
“Whatever they say or do, they do it with an understanding that they might not see tomorrow,” said Booi.
He said they wanted the property used to hold educational sessions about the role Kriel, Williams and Fransch and many others played during apartheid.
“Ashley was killed on this day as a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe.
“One of his missions was to mobilise and conscientise our people and recruited for the ANC and MK inside the country. Because of the regime at the time, he was killed at that young age.
“We have come to commemorate that day, that historic day we cannot forget…” he said.