Struggle cleric, Reverend Alan Boesak has described the late MK fighter Cecyl Esau as a committed revolutionary who’ll be difficult to emulate. Boesak was speaking at Esau’s special provincial funeral at Worcester.
Esau died at the age of 66 at his home in Cape Town about two weeks ago.
@MYANC mourns the passing of Comrade Cecyl Esau #RIPCecylEsau pic.twitter.com/xK7Z8LzKCX
— African National Congress (@MYANC) March 18, 2021
He was sentenced to 12 years on Robben Island and was released in 1991. Other speakers include retired judge Siraj Desai and top cop and former MK operative, Jeremy Vearey. Boesak has also described Esau’s leadership as selfless.
Esau also studied at the University of the Western Cape where a student hostel was named after him.
In June 2016, Tshisimani hosted a series of events to mark 40 years since the 1976 uprising. #CecylEsau was among the older generation of activists who generously shared their reflections on the struggle against apartheid https://t.co/2rcjbaXp1v
— Tshisimani (@Tshisimani) March 22, 2021
Retired High Court Judge, Siraj Desai, has paid tribute to Esau during his funeral service. Desai was Esau’s legal representative in many of his trials.
“The trial was one of the first MK trials in the Cape. The trial was not run as in a criminal case of guilty or innocent. Here as much as we were counsels, we were hostages of the accused because their intent was to defeat the system, the intent was to run the trial in the interest of the ANC and Umkhonto Wesizwe.”
