South Africa’s freedom did not come cheap and it was people like struggle stalwart Bethuel Tamana who paid the price.
A Special Provincial Funeral was held for the anti-apartheid hero on Sunday, who was finally laid to rest on home soil following the repatriation of his mortal remains from Lusaka, Zambia.
Tamana was born in Retreat in 1937 and in 1962, he left South Africa and joined the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) where he operated under the alias Joseph Zame.
He died on April 29, 1984.
The programme commenced at the family’s residence in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, before moving to the Gugulethu Sport Complex. His remains were buried at the Welmoed Cemetery, in Eerste River.
Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport Head of Communications Tania Colyn said: “The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport is committed to supporting this process of ensuring a dignified homecoming and reburial for struggle stalwarts.
“As we lay Bethuel Tamana to rest in the soil of his birth, let us rededicate ourselves to the ideals he embodies – ideals of justice, equality, and a united, free South Africa.
“Let us ensure that future generations know and honour his story and those of others like him.”
Tamana was a member of the Luthuli Detachment and with some of his comrades, were captured and sentenced to death. The sentences were commuted to jail time and Tamana spent over ten years in the Khami Prison in Bulawayo.
In 1980, Tamana was released with other political prisoners after Zimbabwe gained its independence. However, due to the political situation at the time, they were not able to return to South Africa.
The repatriation forms part of the Repatriation and Reburial Project for Liberation Stalwarts.
In September, 2024 President Cyril Ramaphosa received the human remains of a number of liberation stalwarts who had died while in exile, and buried in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Chairperson of the Repatriation and Reburial Committee for the ANC in the Western Cape, Mcebisi Skwatsha, commended Tamana for his bravery and selflessness.
Skwatsha said: “Considering that he left South Africa in 1962, at the young age of 25, he was one of the first MK soldiers who waged a war against Rhodesia/South African Defence Force might and he being part of the Wankie and Sipolilo Campaigns…
“But, one might also not be surprised about such dedication because his own father John Tamana was part of those people who fought in the Bulhoek massacre near Queenstown in the 1920s already, and his mother, Mam’ Dora Tamana, is a woman of stature who led and was a communist during those dark, early years…
“So I think this is a lesson to be learnt in a new South Africa and it has to be considered that this freedom did not come cheap.”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za