Johannesburg - The reburial of the late SACP stalwart Moses Kotane was almost marred by a revolt by some of his relatives.
The group took offence at not being accredited for the funeral service.
The aggrieved relatives, mostly residents of Kotane’s home village of Pella in North West, accused their counterparts from Gauteng of selective accreditation and trying to marginalise them from the high-profile event.
President Jacob Zuma had declared the reburial service a special official funeral.
The angry relatives also accused those from Gauteng of living in the lap of luxury like the Mandelas and Sisulus, while the rest of them, mostly from the village, were left out in the cold.
A commotion broke out at the local tribal office, which was used as the accreditation centre, when a group of irate relatives complained that their names were not on the list of those accredited.
“It’s this kind of thing that makes people form or join other (political) parties,” shouted a woman who identified herself as Boitumelo Kotane and a great-granddaughter of Kotane.
“We were registered on a list of Kotane’s relatives that was sent to the national government last week. Right now, we are told the list hasn’t reached the government. How can that be?” she asked.
The officials standing at the entrance to the accreditation centre tried to explain, but only further enraged the aggrieved relatives.
Another relative, Daisy Kotane, complained that “first they sent us to the (Kotanes’) house, then here. Now we are told to go back to the house. It’s ridiculous!”
Another woman, who did not want to be identified, said: “They may try to exclude us, but our DNA shows we are the Kotanes.”
Speaking to The Star later, she said: “Our relatives from Centurion who think they are closely connected to the ANC or the government think they are more important than the rest of us. They get everything and are living in luxury like the Mandelas and Sisulus while we are suffering.”
Moscow Kotane, who said his father was Moses’s brother, said he was hurt by what had happened.
“We shouldn’t be going through this while we are in mourning.”
He and other relatives continued to complain on Saturday even though the funeral service had started at Kotane’s house.
Joseph Kotane, one of Kotane’s sons, was overheard saying the accreditation list was submitted to the Department of Arts and Culture but that it was whittled down when it was submitted to the Presidency.
He refused to comment.
Family spokesman Sam Kotane said the aggrieved relatives had submitted their accreditation list late.
He refused to comment on the allegations that he and other relatives were receiving preferential treatment and discriminating against the Kotanes from Pella.
“Are you newshounds going to write about this? This day is about the funeral and not that,” he said angrily.
Department of Arts and Culture spokesman Sandile Memela apologised.
“We are saddened to learn that some family members were embarrassed and felt excluded due to the accreditation process,” he said, blaming it on human error.
“We wish to apologies for any inconvenience the process may have caused to any family member.”
The Star