BLOEMFONTEIN – A giant banner prominently featuring South Africa’s flag and the image of astute politician Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick “Terror” Lekota boldly displayed three powerful words that defined the departed politician character: “A life of Courage, Integrity and Service to the Nation.”
These words were the theme of tribute speeches from different speakers, honouring Lekota at the Special Official Funeral, Category 2 held at the Old Grey Sports Club in Bloemfontein yesterday – Saturday, 14 March.
He was laid to rest at the Free State’s Heroes’ Acre, a burial place for heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle, located in the Phahameng location in Bloemfontein.
He was also hailed as a unifier, with representatives of various political parties, supporters, and members of the public present at the venue to bid Lekota a hero’s farewell. Parties included the ANC, the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO) and the Congress of the People, the party he helped form in 2008 in Bloemfontein.
Former Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe were among those who came to pay their last respects to their fallen pioneering comrade.
Following a prelude by incumbent Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered the eulogy on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Republic of South Africa, paying final tribute to Lekota.
Lekota is survived by his wife, Cynthia Lekota, six children including his son, Kotane Lekota, five grandchildren and five siblings.
A graduate of the radical anti-apartheid grassroots Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), Lekota was praised for his contributing immensely to South Africa becoming a democratic state and to the progress of political parties in achieving liberation for black people and democracy.
Dr Mokena Photolo, paying tribute on behalf of Lekota’s family, said: “Terror Lekota stood like a baobab tree in the landscape of South Africa’s history. For more than half a century, his life journey paralleled the defining chapters of the nation’s story – from the struggle against apartheid and imprisonment on Robben Island to the building of our country’s constitutional democracy.”
“From the ideological awakening of Black Consciousness to the frontlines of the United Democratic Front (UDF), the leadership corridors of the ANC’s National Executive Committee, and ultimately the founding of the Congress of the People, his life was lived in pursuit of a better South Africa, marked always by honesty, integrity, and courage,” said Mashatile.
“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,” said Mashatile.
He stood as proof that while names may fade from ballots, the Congress ideal remains, a beacon of unity, a compass of justice, a promise to the people.
Ntate Lekota understood that leadership is not command, but service. For him, democracy was never a distant set of rules; it was a living instrument to transform the lives of ordinary citizens.
Mashatile stressed with conviction that Terror never compromised on the importance of SA’s Constitution but guarded against its erosion.
“He dedicated himself to ensuring that the Constitution became a shield for the vulnerable and a bridge across the chasm of inequality. He remained an outspoken voice, reminding all of us that democracy requires vigilance and principled leadership,” said Mashatile.
Mashatile further stressed the general belief that Lekota was the true embodiment of “A life of Courage, Integrity, and Service to the Nation.”
“Most of us sitting here are aware that Lekota spoke truth to power even when it came at great personal cost to his political career. In the ANC and on opposition benches, he acted with deep-seated integrity, embodying the belief that public office is a calling to serve the people, not oneself.”
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