Remains of SA struggle heroes repatriated from Zambia

The process to have the remains of several SA freedom fighters repatriated from Lusaka has begun, notes a Weekend Argus report. The individuals buried in Zambia were exiled during the apartheid era and had sought shelter in Zambia while they continued the fight for SA’s liberation against apartheid. The exhumation reportedly took three days. Representatives from the SA Heritage Resources Agency, the Department of Sport, Arts & Culture, and various representatives from the SA heritage sector recently gathered in Lusaka for the exhumation and repatriation of the Struggle heroes. The SA National Defence Force said it would be playing a key role in utilising its Air Force resources to retrieve the remains, which included lawyer, political activist and former ANC secretary-general Dumasile Philemon Nokwe (1927–1978), ANC organiser and mobiliser Florence Mophosho and Umkhonto weSizwe fighter Basil February. ‘We need to remember the supreme sacrifices they have paid,’ Minister Angie Motshekga said at the time. According to the Lusaka City Council, the remains of 26 SA freedom fighters were exhumed for repatriation.

Full Weekend Argus report