Liberation heroes remains repatriated to Mzansi
President urges Mzansi to know the names of names of late struggle heroes and heroines
President Cyril Ramaphosa has stressed the importance of South Africans recognising and honouring the former liberation heroes and heroines who have returned to their home country, acknowledging their vital role in securing the nation’s freedom.
The President was speaking during the repatriation and restitution homecoming ceremony of 42 South African freedom fighters who lost their lives in Zambia and Zimbabwe during the apartheid era.
The ceremony was held at the Freedom Park Heritage Site and Museum in Tshwane, Pretoria on Friday, September 27, with families of the freedom fighters present.
The occasion was also graced by former President Thabo Mbeki, Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga, and the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie.
“South Africans need to know the names and appreciate the contributions of these returned freedom fighters. I ask that we read out the names of these patriots for all our people to know them.
“Their names will forever be inscribed here at the Wall of Names in Freedom Park so that we may never forget. Any nation that values its freedom holds its liberation heroes and heroines in high regard,” the President said.
The repatriation of the freedom fighters’ remains from Zambia and Zimbabwe forms part of the Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route Project (RLHR). The RLHR is a national memory project aimed at commemorating, celebrating, educating, promoting, preserving, conserving and providing a durable testament of South African’s road to freedom.
The repatriation initiative is part of a broader effort to bring the remains of freedom fighters who died in exile to their final resting places.
As the country celebrates the return of the struggle heroes and heroines, the President said through the act of repatriation, their citizenship has been reinstated.
“We return them to the land of their birth. We restore them to their families and their people. Decades ago, these freedom fighters left a country that was at war with itself.
“They left a country in which the fundamental rights of its people were brutally and cruelly suppressed by apartheid, which was declared a crime against humanity. Today, their remains return to a free and democratic South Africa,” he said.
The President said it will forever remain a source of regret that they were never to see the dawn of the freedom to which they dedicated their lives.
He emphasised that it was fitting that the country gathers at Freedom Park to honour them.
“It is here at Freedom Park that we remember our struggle for liberation and the many men and women who fought so that we may be free. It is here that we celebrate the achievement of our democracy.
“And it is here that we pledge to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the fundamental freedoms of every person are realised,” the President said.
Through the reparation of the remains of these freedom fighters, President Ramaphosa said the country is giving further effect to the Preamble of its Constitution.
He added that while these freedom fighters belonged to different political traditions, they were united by a common vision of a free South Africa.
“And though they departed this life many years ago, their ideals and their values continue to guide the South Africa we are building. Their activism and their sacrifices continue to inspire our efforts to build a better life for all,” he said.
The President extended his gratitude to the countries that offered these freedom fighters shelter, support and, in the end, a fitting resting place.
“We are grateful in this instance to the governments and peoples of Zambia and Zimbabwe for having taken great care of our compatriots and for enabling their remains to be repatriated,” the President said.