POLOKWANE – DA leader for Limpopo, Jacques Smalle, said the unveiling of a tombstone on Monday for a man who died over 40 years ago was one of the most emotional and victorious moments of his life.
The DA bought the tombstone for Petrus Chauke who was killed during the Soweto uprising in 1976, when he was taken from his mother’s arms and burned to death. During the unveiling the Chauke family and Petrus’ mother, Rachel Chauke, thanked the DA for the tombstone and for helping them to remember him.
Smalle said the thing that stands out most to him is that there are still so many people who carry the burden of what happened in 1976, adding it is an honour for them to be a part of helping a mother come to terms in some small way.
“I now call on all people to stand together to lift up the people who suffered then and take what they fought for to heart and help make South Africa a better place to be in and for that to never ever happen again,” he said.
The moment Rachel’s son was taken from her and was killed is a moment she has never been able to forget. Added to the trauma of that fateful day, she was never able to help lay her son to rest at a place where he could be visited by family until now.
“He was just a baby but his death has been a shadow on my life since the day he was killed. He was innocent, like so many other children who died that day, but now I know he will never be forgotten,” Chauke said.
“Meeting with a mother who suffered that kind of pain took me back to what happened in 1976 and how it took such horror for children to fight for their education. The idea that it took a life- threatening experience for people to have education today is the sad truth of our past but it also shows how far we as South Africans have come,” Smalle said.
The DA met Chauke’s family in 2016 during a door to door campaign led by DA National Leader, Mmusi Maimane, and the family invited the DA to be part of the unveiling.
