Heroes of the struggle come home at last Families bring remains back from Lesotho Feb 17, 2011 11:12 PM | By MICHAEL KIMBERLEY ________________________________ The remains of six struggle icons killed in Lesotho while in exile more than 25 years ago were exhumed and reburied in Eastern Cape this week. ________________________________ Current Font Size: * Tweet<http://twitter.com/share> * Share<http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php> [http://www.timeslive.co.za/multimedia/dynamic/00515/Graves_515052b.jpg]
Photograph by: FINBARR O'REILLY Credit: REUTERS [quote]'My brother can now rest in peace' [quote] A prayer service was held in East London on Wednesday night for the fallen anti-apartheid heroes. Family members and hundreds of other mourners were in attendance, most of them waving PAC flags. Eight members of Umkhonto we Sizwe and of the Azanian People's Liberation Army from the Amathole district were buried in Lesotho during the apartheid years. Two of the Apla activists, Cassius Barnabus and Boniswa Ngcukana, were killed while crossing the border from Lesotho into South Africa in 1985. It was never established who was responsible for their deaths, but the then SA Defence Force was suspected. Mzukisi Skweyiya, a former South African "non-white" bantamweight boxing champion, was killed in "suspicious" circumstances in a car accident in 1985. His remains were among those of the six. The SADF shot dead the three others, Sipho Notana, Lepota Marayi and Mzwanele Fazzie, in Maseru in 1982. The bodies of Leon Meyer and his wife, Jacqueline, were left in Lesotho at the request of their families. Meyer died in Lesotho in 1985. His wife, Jacqueline Anne Quinn, was a teacher there. A delegation of more than 20 - relatives of the liberation fighters and Amathole district municipality officials - travelled to Lesotho on Sunday to exhume the remains and return them to East London. This was done with the co-operation of the National Prosecuting Authority and the SA National Heritage Council. The bodies were buried about 3.6m deep, reportedly on the apartheid government's instructions, to ensure relatives would struggle to retrieve loved ones. The National Prosecuting Authority has a team dedicated to investigating the disappearances of political activists between 1960 and 1994. The team faces a huge backlog - to date, the remains of only about 100 of 400 missing people have been tracked down and exhumed. Yesterday, Barnabus' wife, Nohle, said: "It was very emotional, but I am very happy with what we have achieved. We have brought my husband home." Fazzie's older brother, Zukile, said: "My mother is very happy. The remains have been returned to the family. My brother can now rest in peace." Amathole spokesman Gail Pullen said: "There are many artifacts and mementos that are still located in foreign countries, including the bodies of struggle heroes who never received a proper burial in their home country." The municipality would help families bury their loved ones. The information contained in this message and or attachments is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any system and destroy any copies. -- Sending your posting to payco@googlegroups.com Unsubscribe by sending an email to payco-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com You can also visit http://groups.google.com/group/payco Visit our website at www.mayihlome.wordpress.com
<<inline: image001.jpg>>
<<inline: image002.gif>>
<<inline: image003.gif>>
