Late ANC stalwart Solomon Mahlangu’s niece joins Zuma’s MK party

The niece of late ANC stalwart Solomon Mahlangu has joined the MK party.

MK party leader Jacob Zuma welcomed Portia Mahlangu to the party on Wednesday.

‘Struggle for liberation’

The MK party said Mahlangu joined Zuma’s party with her father, Chief Lucas Mahlangu’s “full blessing and support.”

“Mam’Portia Mahlangu assuming membership into the MK Party, approximately 46 years after the brutal murder of her uncle, is especially significant as this serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for the liberation of our people.

“The late Mahlangu, who shared a cherished brotherhood with H.E President Jacob Zuma, has always been remembered for his unbroken spirit in the fight for the liberation of black people in South Africa, as well as for his bravery in resisting the apartheid regime through acts of courage and sheer self-determination,” the MK party said.

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Murdered

The late struggle icon was murdered by the apartheid government on the 6th of April 1979 at the age of 23 and served key roles in the liberation struggle.

The MK party added that Mahlangu also served as both an anti-apartheid freedom fighter and member of the  ANC, then later as a soldier in uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the then-armed wing of the ANC.

“Upon his execution, Solomon Mahlangu’s last words were, ‘My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom’.

“It is therefore imperative for the MK party to amplify the call to our people to, like uMam’Portia Mahlangu, pick up the spear and continue to heed the call to liberate the marginalized,” the MK party said.

Doccie

In June 2014, film director Mandla Dube produced a documentary about Mahlangu.

“Kalushi – The Life Story Of Solomon Mahlangu” was a seven-year journey for Dube.

The film afforded young South African actors to sink their teeth into roles about struggle icons. Thabiso Rametsi played the role of Mahlangu.

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