ANC mourns the deaths of three leading MK veterans
THE ANC in the province is mourning the death of three of its ex-combatants, who will be buried in Buffalo City this weekend.
The memorial service for the late Fumanekile Skade, Cyril “Champs” Groepe as well as Jongikhaya “Maj” Mtongana will be held at Mdantsane’s indoor sports centre tomorrow, the party announced yesterday.
All three former guerillas died earlier this month due to illness.
Skade, 53, who was affectionately known as Tulo, is the founder and former secretary of the East London Youth Congress.
After being harassed by the Ciskei Defence Force under Lennox Sebe’s regime due to his antiapartheid activism, Skade left the country for Lesotho in 1985 for military training.
In 1986, he left for Angola for further training in Caculama camp, under the command of Mazola Msomi.
Speaking on behalf of former Umkhonto WeSizwe military veterans, Dr W B Rubusana regional deputy secretary Malusi Kunene said: “Tulo played a tremendous role in the ANC camps in exile, showing leadership skills.”
On his return to the country, he was summoned to Luthuli House to join the first contingent of the national peacekeeping force at De Brug in Bloemfontein.
After that he was deployed at Group 39 military base in Queenstown as staff sergeant until he was transferred to the Eastern Cape provincial command military base.
Other former MK soldiers who will be buried on Saturday are:
● Champs, a former ANC BCM councillor who was an underground MK operative.
Kunene said Champs played a central role in the integration process following the unbanning of political parties. He served as ANC branch chairman of Duncan Village, Pefferville and Parkside, which were combined into one branch then.
● Mtongana, 47, also went into exile and underwent military training at the Maqedindaba camp.
“We have lost three very dedicated ANC revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives in the struggle against the apartheid regime,” Kunene said. “We make a plea to the structures of the movement in this region to give moral respect to these fallen heroes.”
Their memorial service will be held at the indoor sport centre in Mdantsane at midday today.
Kunene said the funeral services for the three would be held at different venues on Saturday.
Groupe’s funeral will be at Parkside Hall, Skade’s at the indoor sports centre and Mtongana’s funeral service will be held at the Lutheran Church in NU2 Mdantsane. —