Lekota stood firm when others stayed silent

COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota. Picture: Wikus de Wet / AFP There are some people on the political landscape who will mischievously choose to remember Mosiuoa Patrick Lekota based on his last two decades in South African politics. This period, unfortunately, is not a true reflection of the immense contribution that the former defence minister, who died last week, made to the building of democracy in this country.

History will show that after he formed the Congress of the People (Cope) political party on 16 December, 2008, with fellow ex-ANC stalwarts Mluleki George and Mbhazima Shilowa, his political fortunes took a turn for the worse. At the time of his death, Cope had lost all of the over one million votes they won in the 2009 national elections. But those who knew Lekota and his exploits prior to democracy will attest to a very principled leader who fought apartheid fearlessly and with very little care for personal comfort or benefits.

Although some view the pinnacle of his contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle as his imprisonment on Robben Island, it was his costly decision to stand on principle and oppose the dawn of the “nine wasted years” of former president Jacob Zuma by speaking out when he could have chosen the perks of Cabinet and stayed silent. He chose not to join the dominant Ngoku (Now!) chorus that wanted then president Thabo Mbeki gone from the presidency with immediate effect. When Mbeki had been seen as past his sellby date by the majority of the ANC national executive committee (NEC), Lekota and a few others chose the path least travelled.

[paywall]

They chose to forsake all sense of comfort and the protection of a ruling party to keep their careers going, opting for what Economic Freedom Fighters’ president Julius Malema referred to as “It is cold outside the ANC”. They chose the cold that lay waiting for them outside the movement of their youth.

[/paywall]