Mashatile honours Mosiuoa Lekota as a giant who carried the torch of freedom

Mourners gathered in Bloemfontein on Saturdayto bid farewell to struggle veteran Mosiuoa Lekota, remembered as a towering figure in South Africa’s liberation struggle whose life was defined by service, conviction and an unwavering commitment to justice. Delivering the eulogy, Deputy President Paul Mashatile described Lekota as a giant whose political journey spanned some of the most defining chapters of the country’s modern history. “Today we gather as a nation united in grief, remembrance and gratitude to bid farewell to a towering figure of our liberation struggle and thedemocratic state,” Mashatile said.

Mashatile said Lekota’s political journey traversed the ideological awakening of black consciousness, the activism of the United Democratic Front (UDF), leadership roles within the ANC and later the founding of the Congress of the People (Cope). “His life was lived in pursuit of a better South Africa, marked always by honesty, integrity and courage,” Mashatile said. Lekota understood that leaders are transient “but the congress, as an ideal of unity and justice, is eternal.

He knew that the measure of a leader is not how long he holds office, but how faithfully he serves the covenant of congress…” Lekota carried that torch with unyielding fidelity. “He stood as proof that while names may fade from ballots, the congress ideal remains a beacon of unity, a compass of justice and hope for the people.” Mashatile said Lekota believed leadership wasrooted in service. “For him, democracy was never a distant set of rules; it was a living instrument to transform the lives of ordinary people.

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“He dedicated himself to ensuring that the Constitution became a shield for the vulnerable and a bridge across the chasm of inequality.” Lekota’s activism began in the 1970s through the South African Students’ Organisation, where he worked alongside leaders such as Steve Biko and Barney Pityana to advance black consciousness. “His imprisonment on Robben Island, alongside former president Nelson Mandela, deepened his conviction that freedom was non-negotiable. From his youth through the UDF, the infamous treason trial of Delmas and into government, his journey was marked by sacrifice and service.” Lekotalater helped build democratic governance structures. As the first premier of the Free State, he stepped into a province “scarred by apartheid and laid the foundation of a united, non-racial government.

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