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Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as ANC president, joined family and friends of Rivonia investigator Denis Goldberg to honor the fallen liberation hero, asking his comrades to reflect on what it means to be dedicated to the country.
“The ANC, the movement he dedicated his life to, faces perhaps his greatest test of leadership since 1994,” Ramaphosa said.
The monument was carried out virtually due to regulations in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus and was far from the norm.
Usually, when the ANC holds memorials for their dead veterans, the halls and stadiums are usually filled with leaders and supporters to celebrate them.
READ | Three days of national mourning for Denis Goldberg ‘brave and patriotic’, says Ramaphosa
Goldberg died at the age of 87 in Cape Town last week.
He was referred to as Isthwalandwe or Seaparankoe, the highest honor bestowed by the ruling party on those who dedicated their lives to the struggle and suffered personal sacrifices for freedom.
Goldberg was praised for having unquestionable integrity and for continuing to hesitate to remind the party leadership of its responsibilities when it strayed.
Ramaphosa said the memorial for Rivonia’s youngest investigator and former Umkhonto fighter we Sizwe was the perfect time to ask party members to act in pursuit of economic justice, compassion and freedom.
“The plight of the weak, the vulnerable and the poor must now be our priority,” he added, saying that the lives and livelihoods of many in the country were at stake.
“He was the bravest of us all by far,” said activist and childhood friend Judge Albie Sachs.
Sachs, who is also the sponsor of the Denis Goldberg Legacy Trust, focused on the sacrifices and courage of the fallen.
“Denis gave himself completely to the fight … providing weapons for the armed struggle.”
He said that the same courage did not leave him even after being captured.
“It was the sacrifices that he refused to do that was important. He refused to sacrifice his passion for freedom.”
Sachs, like Ramaphosa, brought the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic to his tribute, saying that Goldberg believed in picking up the spear and said that, unlike fighting, when it was literally, this time it was in search of a vaccine. to stop the deadly virus that has infected millions and has killed hundreds of thousands worldwide.
Goldberg’s grandchildren, who reside in London, also paid tribute to their grandfather along with those from other parts of the country who knew him.
The last remaining investigator, Andrew Mlangeni praised his friend and colleague, saying Goldberg refused to enjoy the privileges of being white in apartheid South Africa when most continued to languish under an oppressive regime.
“Comrade Denis was not forced to join the African National Congress; he was not forced to join Umkhonto we Sizwe, but his conscience forced him to do so.
“He said I cannot enjoy these things when my fellow black comrades in South Africa are denied these rights,” said Mlangeni.
ALSO READ | His ‘compassion shone like a candle’: Ramaphosa, Tutu said goodbye to the ‘patriot’ Denis Goldberg
He also reflected on the trial that captured the imaginations of many around the world and sent freedom fighters, including his first democratically elected South African president, Nelson Mandela, Goldberg, to prison.
Mlangeni said the fight was against apartheid policy.
“He believed that the views of the majority should prevail,” he added, praising his partner for allowing black investigators on Robben Island to dictate what should happen to everyone when offered an opportunity to appeal.
This as Goldberg languished in a Pretoria prison with other white political prisoners.
Mlangeni congratulated him on the sacrifices he made to get to South Africa where he is today, and concluded by saying that he believed that other investigators, who died, were waiting for him to join the ANC branches on the other side.
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