Video by Kailene Pillay
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on his party members to promise themselves and the memory of fallen stalwart, Jessie Duarte that they would continue to focus their attention on the fight against poverty, inequality and unemployment “to make a tangible difference in all the lives of our people”.
Exactly a year after ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte died, her family, friends and ANC comrades gathered at her grave site in West Park Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony in her memory on Monday.
Delivering a tribute to the once “stern, humble and humorous” political stalwart, Ramaphosa said Duarte’s memory must be kept alive by ensuring South Africans’ lives were improved, both socially and economically.
He said that as the country heads into election season, Duarte’s values, programmes and fight against injustice must be remembered.
“As we go toward the 2024 elections, we must not only ensure that the ANC is brought to power, but brought back much stronger with a greater majority than we are at, at the moment.
“Comrade Jessie demonstrated unparalleled dedication, tireless effort and an unwavering belief in the principles of our movement. She was a true beacon of hope and she was a true inspirer,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that he was pleased to hear Duarte’s granddaughters speak about her teachings of humility.
“I am so glad she taught them about humility, because she was always humble without a tinge of arrogance,” he said.
Duarte’s grand daughter Kirstin Whitley also paid tribute to their “beautiful and loving” granny. Whitley said after her grandmother’s death, they found poems that she had penned in her personal time.
Whitley read out one of the poems:
“Long after the music has stopped,
Long after my body’s inner rhythm has stopped,
Long after my name will be cast on stone,
My voice silenced,
Remember that I loved and was loved,
Remember I fought for justice,
Long after my own forgot its meaning,
Long after the dust of the vision has been settled,
Remember my torn heart,
Long after betrayal has come and gone,
Long after I have lived,
Remember me“