Finally coming home to SA: Who are the struggle heroes to be repatriated from Zambia, Zimbabwe?

The South African government has announced it will repatriate the remains of freedom fighters and anti-apartheid political leaders who died in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

A homecoming ceremony will be held for them at Waterkloof Airforce Base towards the end of Heritage Month on Friday, 27 September.

The bodies of Advocate Duma Nokwe, Florence Mophosho and Basil February are among those to be returned.

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, on Friday revealed details about their repatriation during a media briefing on next week’s Cabinet meeting.

Govt repatriates remains to mark road to freedom

“The repatriation of the remains from Zambia and Zimbabwe forms part of the Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route Project [RLHR],” she said.

“The RLHR is a national memory project aimed at commemorating, celebrating, educating, promoting, preserving, conserving and providing a durable testament to South Africa’s road to freedom.

“A homecoming ceremony will take place at the Waterkloof Airforce base on 27 September 2024 when the mortal remains arrive in South Africa.”

Watch Ntshavheni’s briefing below:

About those to be repatriated

• Duma Nokwe became the first black advocate to be admitted to the Bar in 1956. He played an integral part in the resistance against the apartheid government and dedicated his life to ensuring the Constitutional rights and freedoms that he did not live to enjoy. He died in Lusaka, Zambia, on 12 January 1978. The Duma Nokwe Group of Advocates was established in his honour.

• Florence Mophosho helped organise the Congress of the People and later became a full-time organiser for the African National Congress (ANC). She was involved in the women’s movement and mobilised women in Alexandra for the Transvaal demonstrations against the passes for African women. She mobilised women to participate in the nationwide anti-pass women’s march on 9 August 1956, now marked by Women’s Day. While in exile in Germany, she delivered many public speeches. She was elected to the national executive committee of the ANC in 1975, where she fought for women’s rights and for liberation. She died in Lusaka on Women’s Day, 9 August 1985

• Basil February was a vocal activist and even sprayed graffiti in protest against the apartheid government. He twice landed in prison for this. He left the country for military training in 1964 and changed his name to Paul Peterson. He became an asset to Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and contributed several articles to the MK Journal Dawn. He was killed when he and his guerrillas encountered an unexpected roadblock in Rhodesia. South African History Online describes the incident: “It is reported that February put up a brave fight, and in the process risked his life for his fellow comrade by helping them escape while he stayed behind.”

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President announced reburial of remains

Briefing media earlier this month, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the repatriation is in line with the pronouncement by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January 8 statement in 2020, and subsequently the state of the nation address.

“In that pronouncement, he made a commitment that the repatriation and reburial of liberation stalwarts, namely Dumalisile Nokwe and Florence Maphosho, in both Zambia and Basil February in Zimbabwe, would mark the road to freedom and democracy.

“The two countries were strategically prioritised for the implementation of the project,” Mangwenya told a media briefing at the time.

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