As the ANC gears up for its 114th anniversary celebrations, President Cyril Ramaphosa took a poignant moment to reflect on the party’s storied past during a wreath-laying ceremony at the gravesite of esteemed anti-apartheid leader Moses Kotane.
This event, held on Thursday in Pella, North West, serves as a powerful reminder of the legacy left by the ANC’s founding members, as well as an inspiration for current and future generations of activists.
In his keynote address, Ramaphosa highlighted the significance of Kotane’s contributions to the anti-apartheid Struggle, urging ANC members, particularly the youth, to build upon the “firm foundation” he established.
“Moses Kotane stands as a reminder that our struggle requires not only courage in confrontation, but responsibility in organisation and consistency in executing the tasks of our struggle,” Ramaphosa emphasised.
Ramaphosa also paid tribute to both Moses and Rebecca Kotane, describing them both as invaluable Struggle icons who contributed immensely to South Africa’s Struggle for freedom, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the former freedom fighter’s resting place in Pella.
“Today, we stand here, all of us as members of this community and the ANC and the alliance, to pay our tribute to the lives of Moses Kotane and Rebecca Kotane. Both of them occupy a towering place in the history of our country and also in the history of our liberation movement and the Struggle.”
Ramaphosa, who is expected to give a keynote address at the 114th anniversary celebrations on Saturday, further reflected on the legacy of these two leaders, saying they led exemplary lives as they carried themselves with extraordinary discipline.
“Both these leaders carried themselves with extraordinary discipline. They were also people of rare humility. They had an unwavering devotion to the cause of the freedom of the people of South Africa. In a period defined by oppression and dispossession, these two leaders provided clarity where confusion reigned,” he added.
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Kotane, who served as general secretary of the SACP and ANC’s treasurer general, died in Russia in 1978, with his remains only returned to his hometown in the North West in 2015.
In 1929, Kotane joined the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), where he soon became both the vice-chairman of the trade union federation and a member of the party’s political bureau.
In 1931, he became a full-time party functionary. Working as both a party and a union organiser, he also set the type for Umsebenzi, the Communist paper then edited by Edward Roux.
As Ramaphosa led the wreath-laying ceremony, other ANC leaders engaged in various community activities across the province.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile was among those disseminated in the North West, meeting with ANC delegates at the Mpekwa House to discuss impending events and community matters, including a visit to the Barolong Borra Tshidi Tribal Authority.
