EULOGY BY KWAZULU-NATAL PREMIER SIHLE ZIKALALA DURING THE PROVINCIAL FUNERAL OF ANC VETERAN AND STALWART ALFRED MAPHAMBA DUMA AT EZAKHENI, LADYSMITH, TUESDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2021
The Duma and Mlotshwa Families;
Our mother, uMamlotshwa, Mrs Busisiwe Getrude Duma;
Principal Chaplain Rev PLP Gumede;
Leadership of the South African Police Service;
Leadership of the ANC, SACP, COSATU, and MKMVA;
Leadership of other Political Parties represented in our Legislature;
MPs, MPLs, and Councillors;
Senior Government Officials led by the Director-General of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize;
The Community of Ladysmith and surrounding areas;
Compatriots, Comrades, and Friends;
When the baobab tree falls it shakes the grounds and shatters the small shrubs surrounding it. Ensuing pain and pandemonium cause animals to run helter skelter in search of new shade and protection.
Words fail to describe our pain and pandemonium when we heard the news that our source of shade and shelter, the revered struggle stalwart, Alfred Maphamba Duma, has breathed his last.
Renowned Ghanaian author Israelmore Ayivor must have thought of uBaba uDuma, affectionately known as Mthombeni, when he wrote:
“The size and height of the tree determines how heavily the ground will shake when it falls. The cassava tree falls and not even the pests in the forest are aware. The baobab tree falls and the whole forest looks empty! Such is human life.”
To say that the departure of Mthombeni has left us empty and drained will be an understatement. Our knees are knocking together as we are unable to bear the pain we feel. Mthombeni’s demise has been felt near and afar, shaking and shattering the province and the country alike.
Grief-stricken as we are, we send our heartfelt condolences to the family for so heavy a loss. We pray that the Lord will bandage and heal their wounds and give them strength to face the future without their pillar of strength.
UMthombeni ubengumthombo wolwazi, ukuhlakanipha nenhlonipho ebekuphuza kuwo bonke – abancane nabadala - abomele ulwazi, inhlakanipho nenhlonipho.
UMthombeni ubemngumthunzi wokuphumula abakhathakazekile – baphumule kuwo bazizwe bevuselekile, bephephile babe nethemba ngekusasa lezwe eliqhakazile.
Sigqemeke engeqiwa ntwala ngokuwa kwalo muthi omkhulu nomthombo ongomi ebesiphumula sihabule inhlakanipho kuwo.
Impela ayeqinisile aMambazo amnyama, I Ladysmith Black Mambazo, uma bethi: “ Lomhlaba kawunoni madoda!
We are indeed a nation in mourning because of the passing away of Baba Mthombeni. Our national flag is flying at half-mast, and as the African National Congress, we dip our revolutionary banner as we pay tribute to this outstanding stalwart of our movement.
We are proud as the African National Congress to claim him as one of our own and as a disciplined and loyal member of our movement till the end.
We have lost a gentle giant.
The herder who strode the vales and valleys of eMnambithi like a colossus is no more.
The vocal and vociferous opponent of land dispossession, the man who spoke for the voiceless, the despised and the downtrodden has eternally lost his voice.
The warrior who invaded shop and factory floors in search of workers’ justice and decent wages has finally ceased to exist.
His flame for life, which was fanned and set alight at the Lion Match factory in Durban, has finally been extinguished.
The brave and gallant fighter who fearlessly fought against the ferocious systems of colonialism and apartheid has laid down his spear and shield permanently.
In laying down his arms, he has thrown down the gauntlet at us to pick up his weapons and continue the fight against the social diseases that confront us today.
In his honour, let us emulate Mthombeni to fight scourges of Covid-19, gender-based violence and femicide that threaten to derail the gains of democracy made since 1994.
Let us pick up his sticks and shield to continue Mthombeni’s fight against the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
Today we pay homage to the struggle stalwart who sacrificed his education in order to open doors of education and learning for future generations, as espoused by the Freedom Charter.
For his struggle against inequality and oppression, Mthombeni paid the ultimate price. His relentless and fortified fight against injustices attracted the undesirable attention of the apartheid police who taunted, tortured and tormented him.
Fellow Compatriots, in front of us lies a man who possessed a steely resolve to withstand torture from the enemy through unfailing compassion and the armour of humour.
In front of us lies a man who used humour as a weapon to lighten up the spirits of his comrades during the dark days while they were languishing in Robben Island.
Mthombeni regaled his fellow comrades with jokes as a coping mechanism against despair, desolation and depression that prison presented to them.
Mthombeni voluntarily joined the African National Congress and the union movement without any material expectations. His ultimate expectation was to realise freedom for the people, a feat he achieved in his lifetime.
Unbeknown to Mthombeni, his upbringing as a shepherd prepared him for many dangerous situations he encountered in the bush, at some stage rationing limited provisions among many hungry comrades to keep alive.
Like the biblical shepherd David who eventually conquered Goliath, Mthombeni and his comrades eventually emerged victorious against the Goliath of oppression and racial domination.
Ladies and gentlemen, in paying homage to Baba Mthombeni, we are reminded of Thomas Sankara’s expression about revolution and revolutionaries, where he said:
“Our revolution is not a public-speaking tournament. Our revolution is not a battle of fine phrases. Our revolution is not simply for spouting slogans that are no more than signals used by manipulators trying to use them as catchwords, as codewords, as a foil for their own display.
“Our revolution is, and should continue to be, the collective effort of revolutionaries to transform reality, to improve the concrete situation of the masses of our country.”
Mthombeni was a true revolutionary who was prepared to lose life and limb to liberate his people from oppression.
We are forever grateful to Mthombeni’s gallant contribution to the struggle for freedom. We are indeed emboldened that in his lifetime he tasted the fruits of freedom that he tirelessly tilled and toiled for.
For his bravery and unflinching spirit, Mthombeni was awarded the Order of Mendi for bravery in Silver in 2013, for his leadership in times of difficulty and his brave contribution to the rights of workers and liberation of the people of South Africa.
In 2016, the provincial government named this municipality where his umbilical cord was cut after Cde Alfred Duma in recognition to his selfless service to our nation.
Cde Duma was born in Wesselnek, Ladysmith, in 1927, a year that saw the passing of the repressive Black Administration Act 38 of 1927. But he passes on in a year where his organisation, the ANC, will move for the Amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution in Parliament to address land hunger and the spatial injustice that was created by colonialism and apartheid over many decades.
Historians have aptly described the Native Administration Act of 1927 as the cornerstone of racial oppression, division, and conflict.
The Act gave the Union Government unfettered power to reconfigure urban space through forced removals of African people.
In a 2001 Constitutional Court ruling, the apex court in the land recalled that, this Act appointed the Governor-General as the "supreme chief of all Africans. It gave him the power to govern Africans by proclamation. The powers given to him were virtually absolute. He could order the removal of an entire African community from one place to another.”
Cde Duma’s year of birth was also a year when the colonial government sought to maintain white supremacy and white hegemony by policing relationships and prohibiting sexual relations between whites and Africans through the Immorality Act No.5 of 1927.
Cde Duma grew up at a time when he needed a special permit to be in town looking for work. In 1923, the state had promulgated the Natives Urban Areas Act which defined
Africans as temporary sojourners in urban areas. Who will forget the Stallard Commission which gave effect to this law stating that:
"The native should only be allowed to enter urban areas, which are essentially the white man's creation, when he is willing to enter and to administer to the needs of the white man, and should depart therefrom when he ceases so to minister."
Like Dorothy Nyembe, Steven Dlamini, Billy Nair, Archie Gumede, Chief Albert Luthuli and many more, he joined the liberation movement in proclaiming: “ Mayibuye i –Africa”.
He relentlessly campaigned for the demands of the Freedom Charter and fought for a South Africa where the land would be shared equitably, where our minerals and riches - the
heritage of our people- would be restored back to the people as a whole, and where the rights of workers were going to be protected against unrestrained capitalist greed and exploitation of a few that thrives on super profits even when the majority still lacking basic necessities like water, shelter, food, and healthcare.
Cde Duma often told the story of incarceration, torture, and humiliation in great detail. It is a story that is confirmed by his comrade-in-arms, Ebrahim Ebrahim, who was chained together with him on their way to Robben Island after the Pietermaritzburg Sabotage Trial, also dubbed by the press at the time as the “Little Rivonia Trial”.
We know that at Robben Island, Cde Duma was often at the forefront fighting for the improvement of the living conditions of these prisoners of conscience. For defying to be treated as subhuman or as an animal, he was often severely punished by the prison authorities.
The Freedom Charter itself which was adopted in 1955 is very clear about the need for mediation and restorative justice where possible because our freedom fighters and ordinary black South Africans had gone through the horrors of the colonial prisons.
The Freedom Charter states in the clause “All Shall Be Equal Before the Law” that in a democracy, “Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance.”
It is under this democratic government that Cde Duma fought for where today prisons are centres of corrections and rehabilitations - not citadels where the violation of people’s human rights is sanctioned.
In his memory and honour, we call on all citizens to respect the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. Let us look for alternative dispute resolutions instead of a narrow focus on incarceration where restorative justice and mediation can achieve better results to repair harm done to victims and society as a whole.
Cde Duma counts Oom Gov, who used to be a teacher in Ladysmith, as one of the people who had a great influence on him.
In his book, “Learning From Robben Island”, Oom Gov draws our attention to Isaiah 40:3, where it is written: “Go ye into the wilderness and make the way of the Lord straight.”
From this verse, Oom Gov coins the phrase “Go to the masses of the oppressed and exploited of our land. Work among them; work with the people to prepare them for a take-over of power” — in other words, “Go Organise!”
The ANC needs more comrades of his stature who are not only politically matured and disciplined, but who are also effective organisers.
Mthombeni respected and honoured women. He saw women as the glue that binds families together in times of trouble and turmoil. Mtombeni once paid tribute to two great women in his life, his wife and his mother in the following words:
“I would not have been in this world if it were not for my mother Mirriam Makhosazana Vilakazi and my grandmother Masikhakhane. My maternal grandfather was Hlandlana kaJantshi.
I think their tears have gone dry together with my wife, Busisiwe Getrude (uMaMlotshwa). They both stayed together while I was in jail. When I was released from jail I found them still staying together and found them all alive. I thank my wife and my mother for everything they did for me. God bless you,”
I urge men and young boys, especially here in Alfred Duma Municipality which is named after him, and in the whole province to emulate Mthombeni by holding women in high esteem.
Let us honour women, in Mthombeni’s memory, for their role in ensuring that families did not break down while they were turned into widows by a ferocious regime that incarcerated their husbands in prison for a lengthy period.
Like uMthombeni, who could not bury his child while he was languishing in jail, let us acknowledge the unwavering fortitude of women as nation builders who keep the fires burning and hunger at bay while their husbands are away.
Let us support women and children in every way we can.
Masingababeki izandla abantu besifazane, masilule izandla sibanakekele, sibahloniphe njengoba ebenza uMthombeni. Uma senze njalo kuyobe siwuqhakambisile umlando kaMthombeni.
Hamba kahle Mthombeni,
Lwandle kaluwelwa, luwelwa zinyoni zezulu.
Ngiyabonga