More than 50 years after his death, the remains of an apartheid freedom fighter has finally returned home and been laid to rest in Somerset West.

The remains of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) military veteran Basil February were repatriated from Zimbabwe and reunited with their family at a funeral service last Wednesday (30 October). It was held at All Saints Anglican Cathedral, followed by a burial at the Somerset West Cemetery in Garden Village.

Connections with the Helderberg

Just eight days after his 24th birthday February heroically died during armed combat with apartheid forces in Rhodesia in August 1967.

His body was buried in an unmarked grave and, as a result of the political turmoil, his family was not granted the opportunity to give him the dignified send-off they felt he rightfully deserved.

But this changed after his remains were found after a decades-long search.

Last week, friends, family and community members paid their last respects to February as his remains were reburied next to his parents, Paul (junior) and Janet February, in the family plot at the local cemetery.

His grandfather, Paul (senior), lies buried on the same plot.

The February family has a rich and long history in Somerset West. Paul (senior), based in Paardevlei when it was designated a coloured area by the apartheid government in accordance with the Group Areas Act of 1950. February Street in this residential area is named after the family’s patriarch.

For this reason the February family chose Somerset West as the political activist’s final resting place. “Our family’s origin is in Somerset West,” said younger brother Terence February.

Early years

While the family had strong ties to the Helderberg, February was born in Bo-Kaap on 8 August 1943. His family moved to Saldanha Bay seven years later, and its where February spent his formative and early primary-school years.

His later primary-school years were spent at Zonnebloem Boys’ Primary in District Six, before he advanced to Trafalgar High and matriculated in 1960.

It was at this very school that his strong political views were formed.

Terry, 11 years his junior, vividly recalled his brother’s reaction when the younger sibling received a flag and medal on South Africa’s being declared a republic in 1961.

“Basil came over and took the flag and medal from me. He burnt the flag and chucked the medal away.

“I started crying and then he hugged me. He told me to look at him and said I would understand his actions one day.”

After his matriculation February enrolled to study medicine at the University of Cape Town, but his political activities drove him to drop out in 1962.

He joined the South African Coloured People’s Congress in 1963, and the following year joined the MK ranks. Said Terry: “Basil used to stay away from home, sometimes disappearing for two or three days at a time.

“I remember the first time he was released from prison, after being detained for 90 days. He looked frail, tired and dirty. Just seeing my brother, who was usually very joyful, in that state devastated me.”

Being part of MK meant February was forced to flee South Africa to undergo the necessary training, while he also did not want to put his family at risk.

His sudden departure meant that he never got a chance to say goodbye to his family.

After his training, February and his fellow MK soldiers were on their way back to SA when they were ambushed by the armed apartheid forces. He was killed on 16 August 1967.

Broken-hearted

The February family, still residing in Saldanha Bay, received the news of their son’s death through a visit from the police.

“They delivered the message in a vulgar way. Speaking in Afrikaans, they said they’ve killed the ‘pig’, referring to my brother,” Terry remembered. “There were so many high-pitched discussions in our household afterwards, but nothing made sense to me at the time.”

February’s parents never truly made peace with his brutal death or the fact that they couldn’t hold a proper funeral for their son, Terry said. “My father died a broken man in 1980 and my mother mourned Basil’s death until the day she died in 2004, when on her deathbed she made me promise I would bring Basil back home.”

Let his legacy live

The dutiful son kept his word, and exactly 20 years after her death, Terry reunited his parents with his brother’s remains.

The remaining family acknowledges February’s contribution to the apartheid struggle, but also hope he will be remembered as someone who loved his family.

Terry said although his brother’s life was short in years, he lived a complete life as a brother and son, who fell in love, enjoyed writing and stood steadfast in his beliefs.

“To the youth of today, ask yourselves how you can contribute to the social justice and the political terrain by speaking truth to power,” he urged.