Some mourners at the funeral service of ANC stalwart and MK veteran, Dick Ralushai, in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, have raised concerns about corruption allegations against some senior ANC members.
Ralushai died on March 5 after a short illness. His daughter is one of the mourners who spoke out against the scourge.
She says her father was also concerned.
“My dad and the likes of vho Dambuza Malada remain strongly and faithfully against the contagious disease of corruption in their beloved movement. Honourable premier please restore the ANC in this province to its former glory, the ANC of today is the ANC of stomach and the ANC which is suppose to serve the needs of the poor masses.
Dad being dad will also share with us his disappointment about what is going on with his beloved ANC with: “That this is not the ANC which he fought for, it has become the ANC which those to steal from the cookie jar are glorified,” Hangwani Nengovhela told mourners.
A representative from the ANC Veterans League, Godfrey Mahani, testified to Ralushai’s hard stance against corruption.
Mahani says the VBS bank scandal and the shack housing project in Tzaneen are just some of the instances where ANC members were found wanting.
“Our society is outraged and deeply embarrassed that individual members in the ANC and their families have benefited unlawfully while so many people suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic. The shacks scandal, officiated by the provincial Premier in Talana in Tzaneen, the list is endless. Comrades definitely the ANC is in a crossroad,” says Mahani.
This is not politics – we are looking at who broke the law, says NPA:
‘Not everyone ANC member is corrupt’
Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Premier Stanley Mathabatha and the Deputy Minister of Police, Cassel Mathale, were amongst the mourners.
Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha urged people to stop accusing everybody in the ANC of being corrupt.
“It cant be right that the ANC is corrupt, it can’t be. Individuals leading the ANC maybe corrupt but not the ANC. You can’t brush us with the same brush all of us. But some individuals members in the ANC are corrupt and we are arresting them,” said the Premier.
This week ANC provincial treasurer Danny Msiza was among those arrested for alleged corruption in the VBS scandal.
About the deceased
Ralushai played a pivotal role in the struggle against apartheid in rural areas and was hailed as having been a fearless, underground MK operative, who endured harrowing torture and vicious police brutality. He spent years in prison after he was arrested in 1977.
Ralushai, who was a trendy dresser and a prolific journalist, used the pen to inform people in villages about the struggle against apartheid.
He was buried at Mbaleni Cemetery.
