03-05-2025
Struggle heroes Benjamin Malasella Moloise and Abraham Zakhele Mngomezulu laid to rest
Ntokozo Khumalo 3 May 2025 | 16:18
Struggle heroes Benjamin Malesela Moloise and Abraham Zakhele Mngomezulu were laid to rest after they were hanged decades ago and buried in unmarked graves. Picture: X/@DOJCD_ZA
JOHANNESBURG - Struggle heroes Benjamin Malesela Moloise and Abraham Zakhele Mngomezulu have been laid to rest at home, decades after the executions under apartheid-rule.
The two were reburied in Orlando, Soweto on Saturday in a ceremony attended by their family members and government officials.
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Justice Minister Mmamaloko Kubayi says the activists paid the ultimate price for a freedom they never got to enjoy.
Moloise was hanged in 1985 after being convicted of murdering a security policeman - a charge he denied until his death.
Mngomezulu faced the same fate after being found guilty of killing another man, Mandla Khoza, during a political dispute.
Under the Apartheid system, their families were barred from attending their funerals. They were buried in unmarked graves.
Kubayi says their blood and sacrifice helped lay the foundation for the democracy South Africans live in today.
"We stand here proudly to say that Comrade Benjamin's and Comrade Abraham's lives were not taken in vain. Their blood and unbreakable spirit formed part of the spear that dealt the death blow to the apartheid regime. Their contribution to the struggle formed part of the foundation of the democracy that we enjoy today."
Today's reburial has been described as a step towards restoring their dignity and giving their loved ones a sense of closure.
