Transcript of the oration by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki at the official funeral service of the late Mr Joseph Mbuku Nhlanhla

Salutations

Ausi Mmabatho and the Nhlanhla family
Deputy President of the Republic
Ministers and Deputy Ministers
President of the African National Congress, Comrade Jacob Zuma
Members of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Officers of the national defence forces
Our religious leaders and friends

The obituaries we read at occasions like this are but a scanty reflection of the people about whom they speak. The obituary that was read this morning about Joe Nhlanhla is also that kind of sketchy reflection about an outstanding patriot. An outstanding architect of the South Africa that we enjoy today.

Joe Nhlanhla, as we know, was a Member of the Order of Luthuli. He was nominated by the members of the public, recommended to the advisory committee that deals with those nominations and the advisory committee, indeed, recommended that we should admit Joe Nhlanhla into the ranks of the Order of Luthuli. It is a distinguished order as all of us we know which celebrates and honours those among our people who made a distinctive and a distinguished contribution to the struggle of liberation of the people of our country. It was right and proper that Joe Nhlanhla should be recommended and admitted into the ranks of the Order of Luthuli. Because, indeed, everything that Joe Nhlanhla did, things that are reflected in the obituary that has been read, reflect an outstanding patriot who was determined to ensure that his people are free.

The biography does not say anything about the humility of Joe Nhlanhla. It does not say anything about this comrade who had no ambition except for the emancipation of his people. It does not say anything about a person with a very sharp mind. A comrade who could think, study and analyse and guide all of us. But that was Joe Nhlanhla.

When Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka spoke about him earlier this week, she reminded those who were there that sometimes Joe Nhlanhla would find it difficult to finish a sentence because his brain was working faster than his tongue. But the obituary does not say anything about those things but that was Joe Nhlanhla.

And as we can see, throughout his life, he was always present at these places where it was necessary to be, in order to pursue and achieve the goal of the emancipation of our people. Ike Mogase has just spoken about Joe Nhlanhla in the African National Congress Youth League in Alexander Township. The obituary has spoken about his leadership of the ANC Youth League in Alexander and the Youth League in the then Transvaal province, of his involvement in the critical mass struggles of those years. Indeed, such was the role that he played that when the state of emergency was declared, it was natural and obvious that the apartheid forces would seek to detain him because indeed they knew what kind of person Joe Nhlanhla was.

Joe Nhlanhla studied, as it has been said, at the Plekhanov Institute in Moscow. One of our Directors of Ceremonies here today, Zola Ngcakani, also studied in the Soviet Union and will tell you about the Plekhanov Institute, a prestigious institute and indeed, it was right and proper that Joe Nhlanhla should have been admitted into this Institute to study economics, because the movement had understood even then, this is more than forty years ago, that this country would be free. That however difficult the struggle was, we emerge victorious. It, therefore, knew that we had to prepare even for that victory so that we would be able to answer the question: "What would we do with the victory we would achieve?" And Joe Nhlanhla was among the young activists of the African National Congress who was sent to school so that we should have that capacity to manage the victory when the victory came. I am saying that Joe Nhlanhla was always at these places, which were very important in terms of what would happen to our country.

He was our leader in the ANC Youth and student section, both while he was in the Soviet Union and when he came back to Tanzania. He played a role to ensure that as the youth of the ANC then, we remained educated about the ANC policies, that we remained educated about the decisions of the ANC and that we remained engaged in the struggle against apartheid, but we also engaged in action in solidarity with the struggles of other people throughout the world.

It has also been mentioned in the obituary that Joe Nhlanhla served as African National Congress Chief Representative in Cairo during which time he was also our representative to the Afro-Asian People Solidarity Organisation. I am quite certain that all of us present here understand, very well, the critical importance of that International Solidarity Movement in terms of our struggle.

The Afro-Asian People Solidarity Organisation was indeed born directly out of the Bandung Conference that had taken place earlier, which had brought together the people of Africa and Asia to fight to end the system of colonialism globally, a movement which gave birth to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Afro-Asian People Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO) came from that same parentage and played a very important role in terms of that solidarity struggle in support of our own people and it was important that Joe Nhlanhla should have been at that critical place to ensure that, indeed, AAPSO played the role it played.

We had the task as the African National Congress to lead the struggle for the emancipation of our people from a head quarter that was outside the country, in the end that head quarters were in Lusaka. Joe Nhlanhla served in our National Executive Committee (NEC), was appointed as our administrative secretary and to make sure that the leadership collective functioned as it should, that its decisions were implemented, that these decisions were communicated to the membership outside and that the directives of that leadership to the people at home should be conveyed to our people every year, as indeed happened with the 8 January Statement, which were issued by the President of the African National Congress.

As the task of further intensifying the political and militant struggle in the country, as that task expanded, Joe Nhlanhla was put in the position of administrative secretary to the Politico-Military Council, as was earlier reported. In this position, he had to make sure that structure, which was critical in terms of the further intensification of the struggle in our country, that that structure worked as it should have to make sure that the struggle inside the country, in all of its forms was intensified, as indeed it was. I am saying that it was right that this member of the Order of Luthuli Joe Nhlanhla should have been at that place when there was a critical need to ensure that we intensify the struggle inside the country.

There is a period in our history about which not enough has been written and I maybe would like to suggest to the President of the African National Congress that he might start writing about that. This is a period immediately preceding the formal negotiations with the apartheid regime in 1990, when Jacob Zuma, Joe Nhlanhla, Aziz Pahad and myself had to interact with the representative of the regime, very quietly, to prepare for the release of the political prisoners, to prepare for the unbanning of the ANC and other organisations and to prepare for the resumption of the negotiations. Joe Nhlanhla was part of that team, which had to work very quietly and report directly to the President of the ANC, Oliver Tambo and do all of the things that were necessary to ensure that the process of negotiations which the leadership of the ANC had foreseen that were properly prepared for that process of negotiations. Joe Nhlanhla was at this important place, where we had to talk for the first time ever to the representatives of apartheid regime to prepare for what would be a critical moment in the evolution of our country. I think it was right and proper that this Member of the Order of Luthuli should have been at that place to ensure indeed that in the course of that interaction with those representatives of the apartheid system we did indeed create the conditions, which led to the victory of 1994.

Joe Nhlanhla was part of the ANC intelligence structures and continued in that role when we returned to the country. That was the difficult part, a difficult front of the struggle. It was difficult because the people who had to lead and work in that area from the ANC had to deal with an enemy that was very wily, an enemy that was very determined that it would do everything possible to destroy the ANC even from within. So Joe Nhlanhla and the others had to be eyes and ears of the movement. Indeed, on occasion they had to even smell out these people, who were sent into our ranks in order to destroy not only the ANC but to destroy the revolution itself.

So it was correct, it was correct that when we returned and during the course of those negotiations Joe Nhlanhla should be put in the structures that would, in the end, lead the formation of the intelligence services as we have them today. We appointed him to the post of Minister for the Intelligence because of his experience, because of his honesty, because of his sense of integrity and because of our knowledge that Joe Nhlanhla would not abuse that position to do wrong things. He would not abuse those positions in order to turn those Intelligence Services into anything other than a protective shield for the people of South Africa.

It was indeed a great loss when Joe Nhlanhla fell ill. We hoped and prayed that there was some way by which he could recover that could have him among us again to benefit from his mind, to benefit from his experience, to benefit from his sense of vision, to benefit from his dedication to the building of a new South Africa. However, that was not to be. And all of us have even from a distance have felt the pain that Mmabatho and other members of the Nhlanhla family have had to carry as they looked after Joe over these many years when he had to sit in the wheel chair. It was perhaps, perhaps right that, in the end, he should depart in the manner that he has. Because I think we, all of us, know the frustration, the great sense of frustration that Joe Nhlanhla felt when he could not speak, when he could not do things that he wanted to do and when could not stand when he wanted to stand and could not be the Nhlanhla that all of us have known for many years.

Joe Nhlanhla fell ill while he was serving in government as the Minister for Intelligence Services. We, therefore, thought, it was important that as he fell ill while on duty, that we should accord him the official funeral that we accord Joe Nhlanhla today. It is a tribute not only by government but by all our people. A tribute to an outstanding patriot, and to you Joe, we all, of us say, thank very much for everything you have done. Thank you for all of the contribution you have made so that we can live, grow, thrive and develop this new South Africa to which you dedicated your life. May you rest in peace!

Thank you very much!

Issued by: The Presidency
12 July 2008