By Doreen Mokgolo
Limpho Hani, the widow of anti-apartheid liberation hero Chris Hani, has criticised the government for failing to help citizens by reducing the prices of staple foods and electricity.
She was speaking during the 31st annual commemoration of Hani’s death at Thomas Nkobi Memorial Park in Elspark, Gauteng, on Wednesday.
Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of the ANC’s military wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
He was assassinated on 10 April 1993 by Janusz Walus outside his home in Dawn Park, Boksburg, during the unrest preceding the transition to democracy.
His widow told the gathering that the cost of living is extremely high, with steep increases in the cost of food, petrol and electricity, meaning most people are struggling to survive.
“In my personal view, there is no political will to solve the challenges we have as a country. We are prisoners of hope!
“We have to speak the truth for a change and stop being nice to each other or politically correct,” she said.
Hani said her husband was willing to die for the cause he believed in and that it was a shared vision and desire for South Africa.
“Today we are hurt even more because it was not worth his life; not me being a widow and his children being fatherless.
“This government has failed him, and all of us. Countless people have died for our so-called freedom. This is not what they had in mind when they laid down their lives,” she said.
The secretary-general of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula, told the gathering that Hani would have celebrated the success the ANC has achieved so far.
“We agree mistakes have been made over the years but we learn from those mistakes … we also want to undo those mistakes,” Mbalula said.
Speaking at the event, Solly Mapaila, the general secretary of the South African Communist Party, said although many MK soldiers made sacrifices to liberate the country, today they don’t enjoy freedom.
“Many of the cadres are not working because of the compromises they made. Post elections we will have to respond to those questions – it’s the first task we are placing on the table as the Communist Party,” he said.
Pictured above: Limpho Hani.
Image source: Doreen Mokgolo
