Deputy President David Mabuza, on Friday, 6 April
2018, led government¡¦s 39th commemoration of the late
Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu. The Deputy President
visited the Gallows at the Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional
Facility in Pretoria.
The year 2018 marks the 39th anniversary of the
execution by hanging of Mahlangu, an African National
Congress¡¦ military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe, combatant. He
was hanged by the apartheid regime at the Pretoria
Central Prison on 6 April 1979. Before he was executed,
Mahlangu said: ¡§My blood will nourish the tree that will
bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love
them. They must continue the struggle¡¨.
The execution provoked international protest and
condemnation of South Africa¡¦s apartheid policy. In fear
of crowd reaction at the funeral, the police decided to
bury Mahlangu in Atteridgeville. On 6 April 1993, he was
reinterred at the Mamelodi Cemetery.
In 2005, a statue of Mahlangu was unveiled in Mamelodi.
In the same year, Mahlangu was posthumously awarded The
Order of Mendi for Bravery in Gold for his bravery and
sacrificing his life for freedom and democracy in South
Africa.
The Deputy President, together with Cabinet ministers,
deputy ministers and the Mahlangu family took the 52
steps to the Gallows, as they observed the re-enactment
of Solomon Mahlangu's final moments before execution.
Later in the day, the Minister of Arts and Culture,
Nathi Mthethwa, delivered a memorial lecture in honour
of Solomon Mahlangu at the Vista Campus in Mamelodi. |