New Age2.png Zuma saddened by Loots' death TNA Reporter, The New Age, Johannesburg, 27 January 2016 President Jacob Zuma has expressed shock and sadness on the passing of Umkhonto we Sizwe struggle stalwart and former Member of Parliament, Hermanus Loots, who was famously known as James Stuart. Loots died on Monday. "We have learned with shock and sadness of the passing of our struggle veteran and freedom fighter, Mr Loots. We convey our heartfelt condolences to his family and the ANC. May his soul rest in peace," the president said. The ANC described Stuart as ranked amongst the senior and highly experienced cadres of the ANC, both militarily and politically. James Stuart - Hermanus Loots.jpg ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said: "He will be missed for his selfless and persistent commitment to the people of South Africa. His legacy will remain in the cadreship he developed over time. His ideas will continue to serve as a beacon to our movement. "He was an outstanding member of the ANC whose activism dates back to his early days in uMkhonto WeSizwe. He participated in the much-recorded Wankie campaign in the 1960s where he worked with Chris Hani." Loots served in the ANC NEC during 1985-1990 under the presidency of Oliver Tambo. As an NEC member, he was appointed as the secretary of the external coordinating committee under the chairpersonship of comrade Alfred Nzo. In exile, he was responsible for political education at Alpha in Lusaka, overseeing the library and classification of information and material. He was the ANC's knowledge base specialist. He chaired the Stuart Commission which was appointed by the ANC NEC in the 1980s to investigate events in the camps in Angola. "He also served as chairperson of the National People's Tribunal," he said. The party said that following his exposure to the military world, Loots became key in training many MK cadres thus reproducing a calibre of disciplined combatants. "He was regarded as a link between the older and the younger generations. He played an effective and crucial role in the underground structures of the ANC and the MK. "Comrade Stuart was both a father figure and a warm comrade who always gave guidance and advice to young recruits most of whom he mentored to leadership. He also served as the Chief Representative of the ANC during the exile period," Kodwa said. [email protected] From: http://tnaepaper.co.za/ -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
