One of the first KwaZulu Natal Umkhonto Wesizwe combatants, Alfred Duma, was laid to rest in Ezakheni township, outside Ladysmith, on Tuesday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa accorded him a Category 2 Special Official Provincial funeral. Mourners described him as a great leader who dedicated his life to serving his people.
A befitting send-off for the struggle hero Alfred Duma. Mourners gathered at Ezakheni Sports ground to bid their farewell to an MK soldier, trade unionist, and community-based activist.
Duma joined the African National Congress (ANC) at the age of 25 in 1952. As a trade unionist in 1960, he was part of Lion Match protest in Durban, where 150 people were arrested.
He joined the organisation’s military wing Umkhonto Wesizwe in 1961 when it was formed.
Duma was part of MK members arrested in 1963 and charged for sabotage in what was called the “little Rivonia Trial. He was incarcerated in Robben Island between 1964 and 1974.
Family member Xolani Duma says, “Today we are laying him to his resting place, but his name will remain in the South African history. My father valued his family, he ensured that we are united. What we learnt from him is that he preached self-respect he used to say if you respect yourself people around you will also be able to respect you.”
His organisation described him as a great thinker. ANC’s Josiah Gumede region, Sifiso Sonjica says, “We are here to pay tribute to a great Son of Africa. He was not only a great thinker but was a unionist, a soldier of Umkhonto Wesizwe. He was a respected leader, above all a political giant. We wish to convey our gratitude to his excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa for declaring the funeral as a provincial government funeral to symbolise the greatest honour we could bestow over a great leader of our people in his last days on earth.”
The provincial government said Duma was part of a generation of cadres who focused on liberating the country.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala says, “Mthombeni and his comrades eventually emerged victorious against the goliath of oppression and racial domination. Ladies and gentlemen, in paying homage to baba Mthombeni, we are reminded of Thomas Sankara’s expression about revolution and revolutionaries, where he said – ‘Our revolution is not a public-speaking tournament. Our revolution is not a battle of fine phrases. Our revolution is not simply for spouting slogans that are no more than signals used by manipulators trying to use them as catchwords, as codewords, as a foil for their own display. Our revolution is, and should continue to be, the collective effort of revolutionaries to transform reality, to improve the concrete situation of the masses of our country’.”
Alfred Duma was honoured by former President Jacob Zuma with the Order of Mendi for Bravery in Silver in 2013.
In 2016 Mnambithi and Indaka municipalities majored to form Alfred Duma local municipality in his honour.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
ANC’s Alfred Duma laid to rest:
