ANC hails Mhlaba as leader

2005-02-21 08:36

Johannesburg - Raymond Mahlaba was an outstanding revolutionary and a dedicated and selfless leader, the African National Congress (ANC) said early on Monday.

"Mhlaba was an outstanding revolutionary, a selfless and dedicated combatant, and a much respected and admired leader of the people," ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said in a statement, paying tribute to Mahlaba who died late on Sunday night.

"Mhlaba dedicated his life to the cause of freedom, and was an embodiment of the revolutionary alliance of the ANC, South African Communist Party and progressive labour movement."

Mhlaba, 85, who suffered from inoperable liver cancer, died in a Port Elizabeth hospital shortly before midnight on Sunday, his daughter said.

Ngonyama said Mahlaba was a founding member of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, and served as its commander following the arrest of former president Nelson Mandela.

"Mhlaba was one of the leaders arrested during the Rivonia raid in 1963, and was sentenced to life imprisonment."

"The ANC dips its banner in solemn tribute to a great son of Africa, a hero among heroes, and a father of our nation."

PAC offers condolences

The Pan Africanist Congress has offered its condolences on Monday to the family of ANC veteran Raymond Mhlaba as well as to the ANC.

"Although he arrived on Robben Island two years after a number of PAC members who were imprisoned ... he made a rich contribution to our country's liberation struggle," said PAC spokesperson Dr Motsoko Pheko.

No funeral arrangements have been made known.

- SAPA