ALI MPHAKI
FAMILIES of some Struggle heroes executed at Pretoria Central Prison in the apartheid era are seeking compensation for the loss of their loved ones.
The call comes after the Department of Correctional Services honoured the memory of the 130 people hanged for political reasons between 1961 and 1989.
President Jacob Zuma officially opened the gallows to the public on Thursday. More than 300 relatives of the executed freedom fighters and senior government officials attended.
Relatives were also taken to various cemeteries in the Pretoria area to visit the graves of their loved ones.
But while the gesture to honour the memory of their kin was greatly appreciated, some of the families said “we do not eat bones”.
“We have found their bones, we have seen where they were hanged, but now we want money,” said Sweetness Fulela, whose father Nqaba Memani was one of 23 Poqo members hanged in 1963. She was five months old at the time.
The hanging of her father had caused untold misery for the family, who had to endure a life of poverty.
Mcedisi Vulindlela, 50, whose family had five Poqo brothers executed in 1964, said they never received any help from anyone throughout the years.
PAC military veterans spokesman Mudini Maivha said most of the families were living in dire straits. It was also a struggle for most of them to obtain a special pension.