Mom dies as son’s spirit returns
Martyr Sizwe Kondile’s mom dies at 80
JUST over a month after her son’s spiritual repatriation, the mother of ANC activist Sizwe Kondile has died. Charity Nongqalelo Kondile, 80, fought her entire adult life for her son’s efforts to be recognised by the government.
In 1981, Sizwe was murdered by apartheid operatives led by Dirk Coetzee.
He was poisoned, shot and his body set alight before his ashes were scattered in the Nkomati River, near Komatipoort, along the Mozambican border. Sizwe was 24. His sister, Nompumelelo Kondile, 49, said her brother’s spiritual repatriation had been the closure her mother had been waiting for.
On June 30 and July 1, the Kondile family, accompanied by close friend Vusi Pikoli, left Port Elizabeth for Komatipoort in search of Sizwe’s spirit to lay it to rest.
“When I was interviewed about the repatriation, I said all is now well with my mother’s soul. I stayed with my mother most of my life and I know how Sizwe’s death affected her,” Nompumelelo said.
“I know how hurt and angry she was. She was a very forgiving person but she was angry with the government because it took so long for them to recognise what Sizwe did and the role he played.
“Recognising him was all she ever wanted.”
Nompumelelo said while her mother did not attend the repatriation service near Komatipoort, she was constantly on the phone.
“I told her where we were and she told me how she had been there and what she remembered.
“It was extremely emotional for her. Sizwe was killed in 1981 but we did not find out exactly what happened to him until 1990.”
Nompumelelo said her mother died on August 5 at her Beacon Bay, East London, retirement home after a lengthy illness.
She said her mother was survived by her and her brother, Mthetheleli, 56.
She has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
“My mother was a jovial, friendly person who was loved by many,” Nompumelelo said.
“She was a forgiving person who was raised in a Christian household.
“She lived in Butterworth for most of her life but got married and lived in Port Elizabeth for some time.
“She and my father were divorced in the mid-1960s.”
Nompumelelo said her mother had obtained her primary teaching diploma and taught for some years.
“In 1989, she graduated with a BA degree from the then University of Transkei.
“She always said she would not die before first obtaining a university degree.”
The funeral service is planned for Saturday at the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa in Butterworth at 10am.