Hani’s widow question’s TRC’s effectiveness at memorial
Thousands of people from across the country and further afield gathered at the Thomas Nkobi Memorial Park, to remember the life and times of former South African Communist Party leader, Chris Hani, on April 10.
Hani was shot and killed outside his Dawn Park, Boksburg, home, on April 10, 1993, by Janusz Walus, who is to be released on parole.
Among the attendees at the wreath-laying ceremony were Hani’s family, chaplains, and several dignitaries, including ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande, the mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mondli Gungubele, and Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali.
Hani’s widow, Limpho, was among the speakers at the 23rd commemoration of the liberation hero’s murder, on Sunday.
Limpho used the opportunity to call the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) into question, saying perpetrators of apartheid crimes did not participate in the reconciliation process, only the foot soldiers did.
“I believe the government established the TRC in haste, to ensure a transition from apartheid to freedom.
“As the Hani family, we still don’t have full disclosure, knowledge or truth as to what, who or why my husband was assassinated,” she said.
“This begs the question: was the TRC effective, as millions like myself remain in the dark?
“I feel let down by my own government. I appeal to government to deploy comrades who are going to work for the nation and not for their own agendas.”
In memory of the late Hani, mayor Mondli Gungubele promised to keep on successfully executing the Triple H Campaign.
He said the aim is to defeat the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Gungubele also reflected on the story of Ekurhuleni and the campaign by highlighting progress made in housing, health and poverty in the past couple of years.
Meanwhile the call for President Jacob Zuma to step down, as well as the role played by the Gupta family within the ANC, became a hot topic during the commemoration of Hani’s death.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mantashe admitted that the party’s leadership may be facing challenges, but insisted that the party would not “succumb” to the opposition’s call for Zuma to fall.
He pointed out that the ANC cannot follow the programme of the opposition forces.
“We will deal with issues affecting the organisation and take its own decisions,” he said.
”The most important thing about that is how we take this process forward, without being seen to be succumbing to the pressure of opposition forces.
“Nobody takes advice from his own enemy. Advice from the enemy is poisonous, but it doesn’t absolve us from looking into our own behaviour,” said Mantashe.
During the Hani memorial lecture, at the Boksburg Civic Centre, on Friday night (April 8), ANC national executive committee (NEC) member and Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said Hani’s commitment to service means he would have insisted on honest management of public resources and a full commitment by all public office-bearers.
Pandor mentioned that the liberation hero would be concerned about a decline in discipline in the ANC movement.
“We who remain must strive to restore discipline and robust attention to the massive development challenges that confront SA and the ANC,” he said. -@FanieFLK
