JOHANNESBURG — The remains of 42 South African freedom fighters who died in exile in Zimbabwe and Zambia during the struggle against white minority rule arrived in the country on Wednesday, authorities said.
His body was exhumed in Zambia and Zimbabwe for reburial in his country of birth and then received by government officials and family members at Waterkloof Air Force Base in the capital, Pretoria.
Officials said it was part of a government program to provide closure to families of loved ones who died fleeing their homes while members of the underground African National Congress and Pan African Congress.
Before the abolition of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, many activists had left the country with the aim of receiving military training in other countries before returning to wage armed struggle.
Some left the country to avoid arrest by the apartheid regime for their involvement in anti-apartheid activities, choosing Zimbabwe and Zambia where the underground was strongest.
After Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress was banned in South Africa, it moved its headquarters to Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.
Many died in exile and were buried in those countries.
The remains of South Africans who died in exile in Zimbabwe and Zambia during the struggle against white minority rule arrive at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Courtesy of AP/Shiraz Mohamed
Among the bodies returned to South Africa on Wednesday were those of independence leaders Duma Nokwe, Florence Mophosho and Basil February.
South African Vice President Paul Mashatile said at a Heritage Day event in South Africa on Tuesday that the repatriation was part of an effort to teach future generations about the role that many played in the fight against apartheid.
“As a national memory project, the initiative seeks to commemorate, celebrate, educate, promote, preserve, conserve and provide a lasting testimony to South Africa’s path to freedom,” Mashatile said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will host a repatriation ceremony for the bodies on Friday before they are handed over to families for reburial across the country.
The government announced on Wednesday that it was in the process of repatriating the remains of other South Africans from countries including Lesotho, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Angola and Russia.
“We hope that this process will lead to the return of many more people who have died under difficult circumstances in other countries. We welcome them so that they can be reunited with their families,” Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa said.
