Former Umkhonto weSizwe Commander Dr Zweli Mkhize has appealed to former apartheid police to come forward with information about the missing Umkhonto weSizwe combatants that are still unaccounted for, so that their families can find closure.
Mkhize was speaking at a ceremony where the remains of two former Umkhonto weSizwe veterans, killed in 1987, were handed back to their families.
Soldiers of Umkhonto weSizwe Mandla Mjwara and Mfaniseni Mdlalose were last seen by their families more than 30 years ago.
It’s believed that Mandla was shot and killed by the apartheid special branch network in Umlazi.
Mfaniseni Mdlalose is alleged to have died from gun wounds while in a police van. 31 years later the men were both found and exhumed.
Their former Commander Mkhize described them as brave liberation fighters. He says there are more MK soldiers like the pair who have not been found.
“We want to plead with all of those who were part of that special branch network and those who were part of the police networks. We no longer want a fight, we just want to know where are our comrades. That’s all we want.”
The Mdlalose and Mjwara family say they have finally found peace.
Sipho Mjwara says: “It has been a traumatic experience but now we really very happy that finally we’ve actually discovered his remains and confirmed that they are his remains.”
Faith Mdluli from the Mdlalose family says: “We are very excited to have found his remains after such a long time. We once thought he had died outside the country.”
The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Michael Masutha says the government will continue searching for more MK soldiers that have not been found.
“We are still much longer away from finalizing the recovery of the balance of the 500 or so victims of the extra judiciary executions as of this point in time we’ve only succeeded in reading a number just below 100,” says Masutha.
The families of the two men are planning on reburying them.
