Johannesburg – After spending almost 28 years in prison, political activist and former Azanian People’s Liberation Army commander Kenny Motsamai says he isn't bitter.
On Wednesday, the 54-year-old walked out of the Boksburg Correctional Services facility flanked by fellow comrades, his wife Mantombi Magagula and the controversial self-proclaimed prophet Paseka Mboro.
While he had spent the last six months visiting his wife’s home on day parole, as he walked out of the Correctional Services facility's office, Motsamai kissed the pavement to show he was finally a free man.
Earlier in the day, there had been uncertainty on whether he would be freed.
But Pan Africanist Congress and EFF members came out in full support of his release.
Speaking on Wednesday night, Motsamai reflected on how it felt being finally home and missing out on two decades of his life.
“So many have asked me what I intend to do. My children have grown. I still want to do plenty for them, but politics is my life and I’m still going to carry on with the support of Mboro, the EFF and PAC,” he said.
The father-of-three said he was happy to have been released into the hands of his family and people who loved him.
While his daughter Busi Magagula is an active EFF member, the presence of the party raised many eyebrows, with some speculating whether Motsamai was now changing parties.
But he denied any talk of this. “The EFF has never approached me to join. People have agendas. There is nothing like that. The EFF is loyal to the African people, to people like me,” he said.
Motsamai was arrested when he was only 26 and convicted of the murder of a white traffic officer. He rejects the notion that he should have remorse for what happened in the past.
“No white person has ever come back to us and said we were wrong to oppress you. Yet people ask if I have any remorse for my actions. We were fighting apartheid, an evil regime,” he said.
Motsamai said he also questioned why it took so long for the ANC-led government to release him.
The political activist now plans to unite the PAC and take his wife to Cape Town for what he says is a long overdue romantic getaway.