Dignity for the departed

WE welcome the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to allow families to rebury the remains of those who were hanged for by the apartheid government for political reasons, before South Africa became a democracy.

Many of those sentenced to death lost their lives in the struggle to bring about a freedom they were deprived of by colonialism and apartheid.

They therefore died so that we all could live freely in a constitutional democracy.

In making this ultimate sacrifice, the price was also paid by their families, friends and loved ones, who knew neither the solace of saying goodbye, nor the decency of a formal burial with a memorial at a place of the family’s choosing.

It is a long-overdue national act of gratitude to these families, who have suffered so much, that they are finally allowed to honour the departed and their contribution to our national liberation.

Many of those whose remains will be exhumed fought under the banner of the PAC. It is a timely reminder that no single organisation can claim the mantle of liberator in our beloved country.

It has taken the authorities a long time to take this step and return the departed to the care of their loved ones.

Of this there may be criticism, but let it rather be said: better late than never.

And let this be a reminder to us all to never again deny those freedoms to anyone.

Let us also never return to the barbarism of the death penalty, the calls of populists notwithstanding.

May the decision to rebury those who were hanged for political reasons bring peace to all concerned in the universal spirit of Easter, which Christians are celebrating this weekend.