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YOUNGEST PRISONER: Dikgang Moseneke

STRUGGLE ICONS: Late PAC president Zephania Mothopeng and Jeff Masemola, who was the longest-serving prisoner on Robben Island.

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They are among 42 activists, based in and around Pretoria, who were jailed the same year the Organisation of African Unity was formed on May 25 1963.

The event, which is is scheduled for 10am tomorrow in the Mamelodi Community Hall, is organised by the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) veterans in the area.

"Our heroes have been forgotten by the government and we don't think we should allow this to happen," former Robben Islander and veteran Ike Mafole said.

"All we are doing is telling South Africans never to forget where we come from. We must constantly remind our people and educate them.

"Don't forget that (Jafta) Masemola was also the longest-serving prisoner on Robben Island."

Moseneke, now Deputy Chief Justice at the Constitutional Court, was the youngest prisoner on Robben Island when he was sentenced in 1963 at the age of 15.

Like all the other people to be remembered tomorrow, he was a member of the group that led the uprising by PAC-Poqo.

Masemola - who died in a mysterious vehicle crash in 1990 a year after he was released - and five others were the first political prisoners to be sentenced to life in prison.

They include Ike Mthimunye, Philemon Tefu and John Nkosi.

"The Tiger of Azania", as Masemola was popularly known, Dimake "Pro" Malepe and Samuel "Chips" Chibane have also passed on.

They were incarcerated for conspiracy to overthrow the apartheid government.

Other former Islanders to be honoured include Bennie Ntoele, who served two terms of 10 years, and Mark Shinners who also served two terms of 10 years and 12 years.

Shinners second spell followed the June 16 student uprisings when he was implicated in the Bethal 18 with, among others, Zephania "The Lion of Azania" Mothopeng.

Comments

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Wed May 22 05:39:40 SAST 2013 ::

May 25, 2012

Sporty

Izwe lethu!!!!! these cadres were ignored by the government and they really fought for this country.....i'll be there........
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May 25, 2012

ZUMAMUSTGO

ilizwe elethu, i really wish this sleeping giant of SA politics can wake up, ANC is failing us and they will continue to do so and unfortunately we don't have an alternative, what saddened me is that the other day Mantashe comes out and tell us that we shouldn't worry about R Mdluli and Zuma did the same, clearly our intellectual capacity is being undermined, the Guptas are also running the show, KZN ANC comes out and endorse Zuma, my question is what is the ANC trying to achieve? in the past elections the ANC has seen a considerable decrease in voters and yet they want to give Zuma a second term, this country has tried and we are still ensuring that regardless of the different ethnic groups we cannot allow tribalism to take over and it is clear which direction is Zuma and KZN ANC coming up with, some of the leaders who elected to the ANC in KZN have serious charges hanning over their heads and yet they were elected to lead and those charges might be dropped,

In the Northern Cape Zuma wants the support of Mr. Block and apparently the same charges that Block is facing are the same charges that some KZN leaders are facing and the charges against Block could be dropped, the list is endless and this is what we have to leave with.
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May 25, 2012

Phaahle-o-Mosweu-le-diatla

Izwe Lethu...iAfrika! Tiko rahina...iAfrika! Shango lasho...ndiAfrika! Lefase la rena...ke Afrika! I have been telling my blind ANC sheepish followers that if years spent in Robben Island is a barometer to measure the greatness of political leaders, then Ntate Jafta Masemola should be the GREATEST because he spent 29 years in Robben Island...not 27 like other well advertised people.

I will be there in Mams to celebrate these mostly misunderstood cadres. From Cape to Cairo...Morocco to Madagascar...Afrika is ONE BIG village. The borders are artificial lines drawn by greedy losers of the capitalist West.

Happy Afrika Day Ma-Afrika.

Thobela!!
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May 25, 2012

Sompisi

One Settler one Bullet!!! Malibuye Izwelethu..........
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May 25, 2012

Socrates

Izwe Lethu...one day we will lead this country to true Azanian freedom and democracy where the majority will benefit form the wealth of the continent
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May 25, 2012

kuyozekubenini

The PAC will always be there even when people say it is dead.Yes it is dead to those people who do not recognize its existence like the ruling party.It is not only this particular party that seek to distroy the vanguard liberation movement but even those people from whom that party receives all kinds of aid.

It must be clear that PAN AFRICANISM as a liberatory creed will subside but rise again from time to time and will triumph like you never expected and when this occures all hell will braek loose.It is also true that a lot of people who are prominant and will take the PAC anywhere,will die like some of our cadres who passed on under misterious ways.

We must be vigilant and fight against the killers of SOBUKWE,MASEMOLA,MOTHOPENG and all those who were eliminated from the face of the earth under appalling circumstanses.We also need to build the organisation and become a force that everybody was afraid of including the west and their lackeys.

We will start with rebuilding our support base and collectively fix the issue of leadership.The organisation will have a leader we all envissage but in doing so,we have to have a clear direction we sought to take in order to realise our objectives as layed down in the 1959 manifesto.Our people must not be fooled by the storksweet populist rulers as it is the people that will depose them.The majority of our people are reawakenning and lo...the writting is on the wall.

Hard work and perseverence will pay off once the people take a final stand against what they see as the potwhole on their way to true liberation.
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May 25, 2012

Papage

I know this guy, he is a judge right now, what did PAC archive, was he a PAC member? that is why Zuma is shying away in giving him top job in the justice system, this President is destroying our country.
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May 25, 2012

mhlupheki

the ruling party is afraid of PAC, why our political prisoners are still in jail. Myibuye i Afrika izwe lethu
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May 25, 2012

RobinH

I agree with Ike Mafole, that "Our heroes have been forgotten by the government". Almost every second day we have some or other completely random unknown "ANC stalwart" elevated to hero status with major Memorial services blazoned all over any possible media platform, but of course this is merely the creation of a false, ANC-flavoured history for the purpose of hoodwinking the less privileged masses into a belief in the prestige of an ailing party. It is always a supposed ANC member. But never a word about the massive sacrifices made by people aligned to PAC, AZAPO or any other liberation movement. The ANC, as we know, has even tried to claim Sharpeville as an ANC initiative!
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May 25, 2012

mhlupheki

The ruling party is afraid of the PAC, if not why our comrades are still in jail, mayibuye iAfrika, iAfrika izwelethu
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