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Date
: 31/07/2004
Source: Ministry of Minerals and Energy
Title: P Mlambo-Ngcuka on behalf of T Mbeki: Funeral of Wilton
Mkwayi
STATEMENT BY ACTING PRESIDENT PHUMZILE MLAMBO-NGCUKA AT THE FUNERAL
OF WILTON MKWAYI (ON BEHALF OF PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI), King
William's Town, 31 July 2004
Ministers;
President Nelson Mandela;
Secretary-General of the ANC;
Premiers and other leaders of national, provincial and national
government;
Leaders and members of the ANC, COSATU, the SACP and SANCO;
Patricia Long-Mkwayi and other members of the Mkwayi family;
Today we assemble in King William's Town to inter the remains of a
son of the people of Muldersdrift, a son of the people of South
Africa.
And so, dear Patricia, like you we struggle to keep back the tears
of sorrow for what seemingly shall never again be. A towering giant
lies still in the comfort of our warm embrace, helpless to the
naked eye, and departed never to return.
Uncle Bribri lies motionless. But we can dance to the song his ears
may not hear. We can pound the soil in recognition of efforts that
brought our nation freedom. We can beam the sardonic smile in
remembrance of a Bribri who defied death, a Bribri who continues to
defy the throes of death even today.
For we know Isithwalandwe-Seaparankoe Wilton Mkwayi remains among
us. We can see in our mind's eye that towering figure who led from
the front, that resolute leader who, to the very end, determined
that the people's spear shall never touch the ground. We can
clearly hear that voice that gave guidance; and we can assert
without fear of contradiction - now or in the future - that, dear
Wilton, your word shall always remain our command!
This we can declare: that from where Tat'uMkwayi's body shall
permanently rest, a new journey begins for us to seek with even
greater vigour the truth that he pursed all his life - that on a
day not too far away, all South Africans shall stand tall, truly
free from the bondage of poverty, illiteracy, joblessness and
hunger.
And therefore I dare say: we are here to rejoice. We are here to
celebrate the joys of a life whose pursuits made it possible for us
to create the conditions in which this dream is steadily becoming a
reality.
Days before he was sent to the gallows, Vuyisile Mini wrote the
following words:
"They then asked me about Wilton Mkwayi. They said I saw Mkwayi in
January 1963. I said, 'Yes'. They asked me if I was prepared to
give evidence against Mkwayi whom they had now arrested. I said,
'No, I was not'. They said there was a good chance for them to save
me from the gallows if I was prepared to assist them. I
refused".
Through these words, Mini brought to life the bond of comradeship
and trust that was and should remain the hallmark of true
revolutionaries. In these words, Mini was leaving us a practical
example of the spirit of mutual dependence that the cause of
revolutionary change demands.
But in a profoundly personal way, Vuyisile Mini was also telling us
about Wilton Mkwayi: that a commander had stoically taken the reins
to lead the people's army, Umkhonto we Sizwe, when leaders such as
Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu had been arrested. And under no
circumstances, even in the face of death, were they going to betray
him!
And this is the true story of Wilton Mkwayi.
Born of a poor family, Tat'uWilton was condemned by the system to
become what the architects of apartheid had decreed for millions of
his fellow human beings: hewers of wood and drawers of water. The
land in which his family lived was forcibly taken away - and this
explained to young Wilton why his father became a member of the
African National Congress, and in turn advised him too, when he
came of age, to join.
He laboured in a dynamite factory, in the harbours, in the metal
industry and elsewhere - like all his peers, earning poverty wages.
But he knew that this condition demanded nothing else but organised
and disciplined resistance. He became a trade unionist and led many
campaigns for the improvement of the conditions of workers.
Wilton Mkwayi was more than just a worker and a trade unionist. A
member of the ANC, he was thrust into leadership on account of his
qualities as an organiser and a campaigner who could look death in
the eye and not flinch. He was the Volunteer-in-Chief for the
Eastern Cape in the Defiance Campaign of 1952.
Throughout his political life, he made sure that he stayed close to
the people, because he knew that they were his leaders; they had
that indomitable capacity to cast away the chains of slavery.
When duty called, he was there where the brave of the land were to
be found. The political trials of apartheid were to him the
towering platform from which the people's cause could be
propagated; the prison cell the university in which he could hone
his skills to continue the cause of freedom.
When fortune struck in the strange ways of the vagaries of fate,
twice - during the Treason Trial and during the arrest of the MK
High Command at Rivonia - and he was able to escape, he soldiered
on, knowing that those who were interned expected nothing less of
him; that those who suffered under the jackboot of apartheid saw in
him a leader who would not cower, no matter how arduous the
journey.
Even in the face of provocation, violence against the people, and
the threat of death after his release from prison when his home was
attacked, he knew how to respond to the desperation of those whose
time had run out. A leader in times of war, he was a determined
peacemaker when the moment for new forms of struggle arrived.
And so we bow our heads today in honour of an organiser, a trade
unionist, a military commander, a negotiator, a parliamentarian and
a community leader.
We rejoice in the memory of a mentor, an exemplar and a servant of
the people par excellence.
Tat'uMkwayi's memory shall remain etched in the annals of our
history, the history of his people. He entered the valley of the
shadow of death with them; and with them he had started to enjoy
the first harvest of his labours and their labours.
What the stillness of a body resting forever tells us is that there
is a future to be built and a human condition to be improved. The
struggle continues.
What Uncle Bribri commands today is that the sun has risen and we
should strive on to change our lives for the better; to seize the
opportunities of freedom; and to redeem a continent whose past of
humiliation is an injunction to build a better future. Africa's
time has come.
What Tat'uMkwayi says to us today, is that death is but a
reaffirmation of life: for all South Africans to carry the spear of
reconstruction and development, and the shield of nation-building
and reconciliation in pursuit of a better life for all.
And in deference to all that you did for us, Tat'uMkwayi, in honour
of a life truly dedicated to the people, we pledge that your words
of wisdom, your force of example, and your humility as a servant of
the people, shall forever remain the lodestar that guides our march
to a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and
prosperous South Africa.
Lala ngoxolo Isithwalandwe!
Robala ka kgotso Seaparankoe!
Victory is certain!
AMANDLA!
Issued by: Ministry of Minerals and Energy
31 July 2004
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