”Can you please take me instead of my son?” a father begged, moments before his son was to be hanged by the apartheid government in 1967.
This is a snippet from one of the many stories told at a cleansing ceremony at the Pretoria Central Correctional Services on Wednesday, during which the families of the 130 political prisoners executed between 1961 and 1989 were given the chance to find some closure.
The event was also an opportunity for the families to visit the graves – some for the first time – where their loved ones had been buried.
“I thought this day would never come. This thing was never ending. We always thought about it,” said Mncedisi Tyopo, a member of the Vulindlela family, five of whose members were hanged on the same day.
“It’s the first time we come here. We are so happy to finally see those graves,” he said.
The five family members, Sihelegu, Bonase, Maliza, Mbhekaphantsi and Sadunge had been arrested in 1963 over the Bashe killings, Tyopo said. He had to change his family name as the remaining Vulindlelas had been hounded by the apartheid government.
“The five never pleaded guilty, but because they were affiliated with the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), they were sentenced to death,” he added. They were executed, all at the same time, in 1964.
Mbhekaphantsi’s twin brother, Bekapansi, said he had been arrested with the five, but released after his three-year sentence had been suspended.
“I never saw my brother again. I didn’t even know where he is buried. Today, we’re going to find out and get closure,” he said.
Mzwandile Dodo, whose brother Zibongile, was hanged in 1967, told of how his father pleaded with the warders to trade places with his son.
“The warders brought my brother in and told us we were not allowed to touch him. They asked him to say his last words. He said: ‘I feel very sorry for you, not for me. I am fighting for my country,’” Dodo said.
“My father and my brother’s wife started crying. My father then asked the warder: ‘Can you please take me instead of my son?’ But the warders just said no, they could not do that.
“Next we were brought to the coffin. He was just taken from us. There was nothing we could do but go home,” said Dodo.
“We must remember people like my brother. They fought for our liberation. Without them we would not be here,” he added.
David Wolfe, whose father John Harris was the only white political prisoner to be executed under apartheid, said the event evoked mixed emotions.
“It’s fantastic and uplifting to see the government recognise the sacrifices these people made, but it’s also a very sad occasion,” said Wolfe.
“So many people died during apartheid. I’m sure there are thousands and even millions whose names will never be known,” he added.
After the ceremony at Pretoria Central Correctional Services, the families were led to their loved ones’ graves in several cemeteries around Pretoria.
The graves were marked by numbered yellow labels the size of banknotes as there were no tombstones for those executed.
Three people were sometimes buried in one grave, one on top of the other.
Phumelele Nkwenkwe Ghua said he was supposed to be buried there.
“I was to be hanged with my PAC comrades,” he said while standing above one of the graves.
“We were arrested for murders we had nothing to do with. Fourteen of us were sentenced to death, me included, but my sentence was changed to life in prison.
“In total, twelve comrades were hanged,” he explained, adding that he had been released in September 1979.
After praying and locating the graves, family members took time to say a few words.
“We know where you are now. Give people the right to exhume you and allow no danger to come to them,” said Tyopo. - Pretoria News