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A young man of principle, superman to his wife and a lover of the ANC.
A tent in Umzimkhulu, on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, was filled to capacity yesterday by friends, family and comrades of the late Sindiso Magaqa as he was laid to rest.
“He loved politics, he named his first child Aluta, as in Aluta Continua. If it were up to him, all of his kids would have political names.
"I was his niece, speaking on behalf of his kids because they are too young to speak for themselves. His kids won’t know their dad because of evil people,” his tearful niece Yolokazi Magaqa told the gathering.
Magaqa died in hospital last week after being hospitalised for two months following his shooting by an unknown gunman.
It is alleged the motive for his killing involved a corrupt tender for the construction of a hall in Umzimkhulu.
Magaqa was elected as secretary-general of the ANC Youth League in 2011, under the presidency of now Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and deputy EFF president Floyd Shivambu.
Magaqa was suspended from the ANC in 2012, but was later brought back into the fold. At the time of his death, he was serving as a councillor.
Neither Malema or Shivambu were present at the funeral, having been warned not to attend.
Their names were not mentioned during the proceedings.
Magaqa’s friend, Less Stuta, pleaded with ANC leaders who attended the funeral to find his killer and the killers of others who had died in the province.
“The leadership needs to home in on the killings here at Umzimkhulu. People no longer think that positions belong to the ANC, they think they are married to them,” Stuta charged.
“The ANC leadership must make decisions. We no longer have Magaqa because of a hall. How many more of us will die still before regional conference?”
The south coast region has seen an increase in political killings over the past few months in the run-up to ANC regional conferences.
Factions are battling it out to consolidate power ahead of the ANC’s national elective conference in December.
“You have left me with great pain"
The funeral was also used to affirm support for the provincial executive committee (PEC), whose election was declared unlawful by the Pietermaritzburg High Court this week. Speakers reiterated that PEC chairperson Sihle Zikalala was the sitting leadership of the province.
The funeral was attended by national executive committee (NEC) members mostly aligned with the Jacob Zuma faction, who are expected to support the call for the PEC to appeal the high court judgment when the NEC has a special sitting this week.
The NEC members present included Lindiwe Zulu, Bathabile Dlamini, Malusi Gigaba, Nomvula Mokonyane and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as well as Bheki Cele, who openly supports the so-called rebel group that took the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to court.
Speaking on behalf of the ANC Youth League, secretary-general Njabulo Nzuza called for unity in the ANC.
“If the ANC is not united, its enemies will defeat it. No matter our differences, we must prioritise unity. If there is no enemy inside the ANC, the enemy outside does not matter.”
Magaqa’s wife Gugu was represented by her sister, who described their relationship as “a love to behold”.
She said Magaqa was Gugu’s superman. In the tribute written by his wife, she said that he would always be her present and never her past.
His mother was too overcome with emotion to speak at the funeral. Her sister read the tribute to her son: “You have left me with great pain, you were everything to me. You were in pain for two months and I wished I could feel it for you.”
A speech by treasurer-general of the ANC and presidential hopeful Zweli Mkhize was repeatedly interrupted by strong winds.
Mkhize called on the ANC in the province to notify the national leadership about what they needed to do to bring an end to the scourge of killings.
PEC chairperson Zikalala committed to returning to the area on Monday to look into the allegations of corruption.
