JOHANNESBURG (AP) — 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 their home country on Wednesday.
His body was exhumed for reburial in his country of birth and then collected by government officials and his family 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.
Among the remains returned to South Africa 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 repatriated bodies on Friday before the bodies are handed over to their families for reburial.
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 and we welcome them to be reunited with their families,” Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa said.
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