Mathabang Ntsenyeho could barely hold back her tears yesterday when she was presented with a house.
The 46-year-old is the wife of former mineworker Andries Ntsenyeho, an Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) member who was among the 44 people killed during the protracted Lonmin wage strike in Marikana in 2012.
The union presented her with a newly built house in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng. The house has three bedrooms, a kitchen and a lounge, and is valued at R600000.
"I want to thank Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa for thinking about the widows and families of those killed in Marikana. I will stop having sleepless nights every time rain falls ... because of fearing leaks from the roof," Mathabang said as she described her current home in Sasolburg informal settlement.
"I lived in a three-roomed shack with my five children and now I'm glad the suffering is over."
The house was built through the Marikana Massacre Amcu Trust Fund, that has promised to complete 42 remaining houses by the sixth Marikana Massacre commemoration.
"To you Mr Mathunjwa, know that our family doesn't have silver and gold that we can give you for your kind gesture, but we can only ask God to give you strength and wisdom to finish what you have started," she said.
Mathabang said her husband had always wanted to build his family a dream home, but complained about his paltry salary.
Daughter Mamokete, 23, said she had never dreamt of living in such a beautiful house.
"I'm so happy that the union didn't forget my father and his family. Our dignity has been restored to the fullest," she said.
Mathunjwa said Amcu will continue to fight for the rights of the workers in the platinum belt and elsewhere in the country.
He compared Andries's brutal death to those of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, Solomon Mahlangu, Chris Hani and Robert Sobukwe.
House for Marikana widow
Mathabang Ntsenyeho could barely hold back her tears yesterday when she was presented with a house.
The 46-year-old is the wife of former mineworker Andries Ntsenyeho, an Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) member who was among the 44 people killed during the protracted Lonmin wage strike in Marikana in 2012.
The union presented her with a newly built house in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng. The house has three bedrooms, a kitchen and a lounge, and is valued at R600000.
"I want to thank Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa for thinking about the widows and families of those killed in Marikana. I will stop having sleepless nights every time rain falls ... because of fearing leaks from the roof," Mathabang said as she described her current home in Sasolburg informal settlement.
"I lived in a three-roomed shack with my five children and now I'm glad the suffering is over."
The house was built through the Marikana Massacre Amcu Trust Fund, that has promised to complete 42 remaining houses by the sixth Marikana Massacre commemoration.
"To you Mr Mathunjwa, know that our family doesn't have silver and gold that we can give you for your kind gesture, but we can only ask God to give you strength and wisdom to finish what you have started," she said.
Mathabang said her husband had always wanted to build his family a dream home, but complained about his paltry salary.
Daughter Mamokete, 23, said she had never dreamt of living in such a beautiful house.
"I'm so happy that the union didn't forget my father and his family. Our dignity has been restored to the fullest," she said.
Mathunjwa said Amcu will continue to fight for the rights of the workers in the platinum belt and elsewhere in the country.
He compared Andries's brutal death to those of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, Solomon Mahlangu, Chris Hani and Robert Sobukwe.
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