ANC Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has jokingly asked United Democratic Front (UDF) leader Bantu Holomisa to instruct his party’s councillor in the City of Johannesburg to stop writing motions of no confidence against him.
“You have your person who is bothering me in council. He writes motions of no confidence non-stop. I’m asking you to talk to him to leave me to finish my term. I only have five months,” Morero pleaded with Holomisa.
Morero made the remarks while speaking at the memorial service of Congress of the People (Cope) leader Mosiuoa Lekota, who died last week.
The memorial service was at Regina Mundi Church in Soweto. Lekota will be buried in Bloemfontein in the Free State on Saturday.
Speaking at the memorial, Morero said mourners were not merely gathered to mourn a man but to honour a life that carried the weight of a nation’s struggle and the promise of its freedom.
He said Lekota had belonged to a generation of South Africans who blatantly refused to accept that injustice was permanent.
“When our beautiful country was trapped under the cruel machinery of apartheid, he stood among those who declared that freedom would come, no matter the cost.
“A gallant son of Kroonstad in the Free State, a part of our country previously infested with the scourge of racism and white supremacy, the journey of his life became inseparable from the story of South Africa itself.”
Morero said that as a young man, Lekota had found his political roots in the student movements of the 1970s, during which courage was often punished with exile, imprisonment or death. For him, it had meant prison.
Lekota had spent years on Robben Island, that harsh school of revolution where many of their leaders learnt the art of patience, resilience and discipline, Morero said.
“Jailed, yet jail could not imprison his convictions. When he emerged from that incarceration, he stepped forward into the storm of struggle. A leader within the UDF, he helped mobilise communities across our country, giving voice to the voiceless and courage to the fearful.
“After the dawn of democracy, he did not claim rest. Instead, he accepted the difficult task of being part of a collective committed to building a new South Africa.
“He became the first premier of the Free State, later the chairperson of the NCOP [National Council of Provinces] and later a minister of defence. He carried the huge task of transforming institutions that once served oppression into ones meant to serve all South Africans.”
Morero said that perhaps what had defined Lekota most was not the offices he had held but the independence of his mind, adding that he had strongly believed democracy required courage — not only against tyranny but also against complacency.
“When his conscience demanded, he walked a different path. Throughout his life, he remained a man of conviction, often outspoken. Today, as we reflect on his journey, we must bear in mind that the freedom we enjoy was not built by accident.
“Comrade Lekota became part of the men and women who accepted hardship so that future generations might inherit dignity. Reflecting on his life, one is reminded that democracy is not a finished project but a living responsibility.
“We honour him for dedicating his life to building a democratic, non-sexist and non-racial South Africa. To his family, the ANC extends its deepest condolences and gratitude. You shared him with a nation.”
Morero added that the ANC acknowledged the “arduous road” Lekota had travelled with his comrades and compatriots. “And to South Africa, we say: one of the soldiers of our freedom struggle has laid down his shield.”
Speaking at the memorial, ANC deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane said Lekota might have claimed to be a member of Cope and he might have come from the black consciousness movement but he also belonged to the ANC.
“As the saying says, history has no blank pages,” she said.
Joburg mayor humorously urged UDF leader Bantu Holomisa to stop his party’s councillor from filing motions of no confidence against him. Morero also honoured Lekota’s decades-long contribution to South Africa’s struggle against apartheid
