By Simon Nare
President Cyril Ramaphosa marked the 114th anniversary of the ANC by laying a wreath at the gravesite of Moses Kotane in Pella, near Rustenburg in the North West, honouring one of the towering figures of South Africa’s liberation struggle.
Addressing supporters at the gravesite of the late ANC treasurer-general and SACP general secretary, Ramaphosa described Kotane as an exemplary and selfless leader of the movement.
“He reminded generations of activists that the struggle required not only courage in confrontation, but responsibility in organization, consistency in executing the tasks of our struggle, but also in building organization and transforming society,” said Ramaphosa.
He told the crowd that this was not his first visit to Kotane’s grave, recalling that he had previously attended the reburial of Kotane’s remains in the village.
“Moses Kotane and Mama Rebecca Kotane occupy a towering place in our country and in the history of our liberation struggle. Both were people of extraordinary discipline and rare humility,” Ramaphosa said.
The president added that the couple demonstrated unwavering devotion to South Africa’s freedom during a period marked by oppression and dispossession.
He credited them with providing clarity when confusion prevailed, singling out Moses Kotane for offering strategic direction.
“When retreat and dispersion were tempting, they provided moral steadiness. When the cost of the struggle grew heavy, Moses Kotane, as a leader, never sought glamour or political reward, nor the fulfilment of personal ambition,” Ramaphosa said.
Elsewhere in the province, Deputy President Paul Mashatile spent much of the day in and around Mahikeng, visiting traditional leaders before attending the cutting of the anniversary cake at the Mmabatho Convention Centre.
With the country heading into the Local Government Elections later this year, the ANC is using its anniversary commemorations to bolster its campaign, with Ramaphosa set to deliver the party’s 114th January 8 Statement at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday, where he is expected to unveil the ANC’s campaign roadmap and strategy.
Kotane, who served as general secretary of the South African Communist Party and treasurer-general of the ANC, died in the former Soviet Union in 1978.
His remains were returned to his hometown in the North West in 2015.
He joined the Communist Party of South Africa in 1929, soon becoming vice-chairperson of the trade union federation and a member of the party’s political bureau.
In 1931, Kotane became a full-time party functionary.
Working as both a party and trade union organiser, he also set type for Umsebenzi, the Communist Party newspaper edited at the time by Edward Roux.
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