Family members of apartheid heroes overjoyed as remains return home from exile

There were feelings of joy but an opening of painful wounds as the remains of apartheid activists who died while in exile in Zambia and Zimbabwe were returned home in a repatriation programme by the government.

In commemorating 30 years of democracy, sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie and defence minister Angie Motshekga on Wednesday afternoon received the remains of 42 former liberation fighters who lost their lives while in exile. A further seven bodies are expected to be returned after undergoing DNA testing.

Their arrival at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria will be followed by an official homecoming ceremony on Friday at Freedom Park as part of an initiative to recognise the sacrifices made during the liberation struggle.

I’ve been waiting 57 years to get closure for my brother

—  Sister of first slain coloured MK member Basil February

Described as a young, brave and intelligent man, Basil February was the first coloured member of the ANC armed wing uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) to be slain.

February had left South Africa with James April, another MK member, for Botswana, fleeing the apartheid government under the pseudonym Paul Petersen, a combination of his father’s first name and his mother’s maiden name.

The brave young man who received five distinctions in high school and was a medical student at University of Cape Town was not clear about his intention to live in exile, but told his family he would be away for a while. At the time, February was only 20 years old.

His sister, Desiree Jaftha, now aged 77, said she was four years younger than her brother Basil and he would often disappear and reappear, which she never understood.

One afternoon while she was at an OK Bazaars supermarket with her school friends during a break between exam papers, she was approached by someone who put their hand on her shoulder and spoke softly to her.

“The person said I mustn’t look around and he said it was him (Basil). He said to me he is going away for a while, but I mustn’t worry about it, and I must promise him one thing — that I will get myself a good education.

“Then he left and as he walked away, I turned around, and he had grown a beard and had a cap on. That was my last memory of him. I never saw him again,” she told TimesLIVE Premium.

She said her brother had also left a pencil-written note for his parents, letting them know that he would be “gone for a while”.

However, four years later in 1967, according to his family, February died at a roadblock where he was involved in a shoot-out for hours with South African and Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) forces. He was shot dead after running out of ammunition.

Jaftha said she learnt of his death when she saw a newspaper poster while on the bus going home from town.

“It just said that ‘April arrested and February killed’. He had left with James April. That was the first time we heard about his death. When I got home, I told my sister about what I saw and she made a call and found out that he was shot and killed. That is how we found out. He was buried in Zimbabwe and I never knew this. I eventually found out from my brother.”

She described February as a kind, caring and vibrant person who was highly intelligent and performed well in school. The family’s biggest wish was for his remains to return home.

“I can’t describe how I felt when I saw the words ‘coming home’. It is so moving for me. We hope to bury him near my parents’ grave. I cannot believe this is actually happening.”

Jaftha said her parents had been dead for many years and they were waiting for him. She said her sister also died waiting.

“My parents had a tough time when Basil was killed. I hope people will be happy for us and that they will understand that he wasn’t just someone who killed people willy-nilly. That wasn’t the aim of his cause. I am extremely happy that he is coming home and we can finally have closure,” she said.

My mom left me when I was eight

—  Daughter of ANC member Florence Mophosho

One of those who sacrificed their lives and families for liberation was Florence Mophosho, who died in Zambia, Lusaka, in 1985. Mophosho, who was from Alexandra in Johannesburg, left the country in 1964 on the advice of the ANC, of which she was a member. The ANC recommended exile after several arrests and being served with a banning order when the party was outlawed in 1960.

Her daughter, Maggie Zulu, 68, said she was only eight years old at the time and had to remain in the country to be raised by her aunt in Soweto.

She only got to see her mother twice while she lived in exile, first in 1972 when she travelled to Botswana under a fake name in fear that her real name would expose her mother’s location to the apartheid government.

“I visited her for the first time that year in Botswana. I didn’t stay for long, it was a brief visit because it was a struggle and the apartheid government had severely oppressed us. My mom then left for Zambia.”

The second time she saw her mother was more than a decade later when she had given birth to Mophosho’s first grandchild. Since she was married and used her marital surname, she did not need to hide her identity as her new surname had concealed that she was Mophosho’s daughter.

“My daughter was a year and six months old at the time. Again, it was a brief visit. I saw her for a few days to introduce her to her first and only grandchild. However, she was very sick at the time. I stayed a few days then I returned to South Africa. That same week, she was admitted to hospital and four days after I returned home, she passed away on August 9 1985.”

She said they had to apply for a temporary passport for her aunt and conceal her identity to return to Zambia upon hearing about her mother’s death.

“It’s as if our last visit was a way of saying goodbye to each other. We went there during apartheid and we couldn’t return with her. The apartheid government would even bother me at school and would constantly ask me where she was.

“I was even told to go meet members of the apartheid government, but I was warned they would arrest me because they wanted to know how much I knew about her whereabouts.”

Zulu said she is elated that her mother’s remains were finally returning home and despite having being raised by her aunt while her mother was in exile, she was proud of Mophosho.

“I am very proud of my mother even though she was not around to see the outcome of her efforts and that we can go wherever we want and walk around freely. I don’t know how to express my happiness and I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s been a long time since she died and left and she is eventually coming home,” said Zulu.

My mother’s dying wish was for my father’s remains to return

—  Daughter of ANC SG advocate Duma Nokwe

ANC secretary-general between 1958 and 1969, advocate Duma Nokwe, was directed by the party’s underground leadership to flee the country after repeated arrests and charges and a raid at his home that placed him under house arrest.

He crossed the border into Botswana in January 1963 with the ANC’s Moses Kotane and his wife and children joined him a year later. His daughter, Dr Nomvuyo Nokwe, 71, who was 10 at the time, said she was transported with her sister, then aged three, from Park Station in Johannesburg to Zeerust, North West, where they walked to cross the border into the neighbouring country.

Nokwe's eldest sister was living in Eswatini at the time for a better academic career after the introduction of the Bantu education system by the apartheid government.

His family then moved to Zambia where they continued to live in exile, but Nokwe became ill, his daughter said.

“Daddy had multiple health issues and had an abnormal coronary artery which couldn’t supply the heart very well. We knew of his health issues, but he soldiered on even though he was ill. He said his comrades are languishing in prison and he needed to bear the torch for them. He didn’t want people to feel sorry for him. He was also not able to get proper medication,” she told TimesLIVE Premium.

After his death, the ANC managed to circumvent the apartheid government to transport his parents to Zambia, but they arrived shortly after his coffin was closed for viewing, which left his parents in agony.

“They were not able to see their only child return to South Africa. It was unbearable. They managed to bury him in Lusaka and has been buried there for 47 years.”

Nokwe's family returned to South Africa in 1995, but in 2008, when Nokwe’s wife fell ill, her dying wish was for her husband’s remains to return home.

Nomvuyo said her mother passed away on October 24, which was Zambia’s Independence Day.

“Our dad was such a wonderful man and he deserves all of this attention because he sacrificed a lot. If he wanted, he would not have been interested in the liberation struggle and continued with a private practice because he was a people person. We will honour him. Fortunately, we have the Duma Nokwe advocate chambers and for us, it is an honour and a privilege.

“I feel a whole bag of emotions. I am overwhelmed, excited and overjoyed, and this repatriation has evoked so many memories and also pain, because it has been 47 years since he passed and was lying in Lusaka. For us, it’s an emotional moment. Even if it’s his mortal remains, he was our father. We are truly grateful,” she said.