Cope leader Terror Lekota died at the age of 77 in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Image: Masi Losi
At the personal level, struggle stalwart, Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota, who died on Wednesday morning at the age of 77, was a father figure to his comrades and someone who love to tell jokes to keep them laughing and happy.
This was despite the challenges of leading the Congress of the People (Cope), which in recent years has struggle to grow support.
This was revealed by Cope’s acting president Teboho Loate in reaction to the passing of Lekota, who was the party’s founding president.
Loate said the former ANC national chairperson and Defense Minister, who was born on 13 August 1948 in Kroonstad in Free State was a family man who loved his wife Cynthia and their six children.
He obtained name Terror when he was a soccer player.
According to the government website, Lekota was first premier of the Free State province from 1994 until 1996. He was also the ANC chairperson from 1997 to 1999.
“I spent many moments with him and his family and I became a member of his family.
“When I spent those moments of friendship with him, it was quite interesting, he was full of jokes and you would get an opportunity to learn more about his views regarding politics.
“He loved his family and he was more like a father to me,” said Loate.
After former president Jacob Zuma, now the leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), had been elected ANC president in 2007, Lekota and former unionist Sam Shilowa left the ANC to form Cope.
However, over the years, the relationship between Lekota and Shilowa broke down and they became political foes within Cope.
However, Loate said on a personal level and away from public eyes, the two men got along and referred to each other as comrades.
“In politics we don’t have permanent enemies, just as much as you will have differences and we differ a lot because of differences of opinions and ideologies.
“That does not mean that we become enemies, so at a personal level they were fine because when we talk, we talk as comrades,” said Loate.
According to Loate, Lekota ventured into politics through his proximity to Steve Bantu Biko, the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM).
Author Padraig O'Malley writing for the Nelson Mandela Foundation described Lekota as a student politics activist, who between 1974 and 1975 was an organiser for the BCM affiliated South African Students' Organisation (SASO).
O'Malley also wrote that Lekota was imprisoned at Robben Island from 1974 and 1982 “for conspiring to commit acts endangering the maintenance of law and order.”
When the United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed in 1983, Lekota was elected its publicity secretary.
He, Moses Chikane, Popo Molefe, and Tom Manthata were also convicted in the Delmas Treason Trial in 1988 for committing acts of terrorism after they led protests against apartheid laws in Delmas.
The trial, which was heard in the Supreme Court from 16 October 1985 to 18 November 1988 was recorded as having been one of the longest political trials in South African history.
After the fall of apartheid government, Lekota was elected ANC national chairperson, the position he held between 1997and 2007.
Under Thabo Mbeki’s presidency, Lekota served as Defence Minister between 1999 and 2008.
Describing the defection from the ANC that led to the formation of Cope in 2008, Loate said Sholowa and Lekota were aggrieved by the election of Zuma as the ANC president in 2007.
They wanted Mbeki to be re-elected and to lead the party for the third term.
“Many of us were warning the ANC at that time that it was wrong to have a person like Jacob Zuma lead the ANC.
“Together with a number of people we then decided that we would rather leave because there was no way we could convince the ANC not to elect Zuma as its president,” said Loate.
In its prime years, Cope became a formidable party with convincing support around the country.
However, that support soon dwindled.
“When we formed Cope, the ANC under the secretariat of Gwede Mantashe launched a massive campaign to kill Cope.
“They would have a war room where they discussed how to defeat Cope,” he said.
He said Lekota was admitted to hospital when he was planning to take the party to an elective conference.
“In terms of our constitution, the president can only be removed by the congress or when he resigns.
“His wish was to take us to the congress to elect new leadership, but when he went to hospital, the party decided to appoint me (Loate) as an acting president,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cope acting national chairperson Pakes Dikgetsi has asked the public to give the Lekota family the space to mourn his death.
“The Lekota family has requested privacy during this difficult time, and the party asks that the public and media respect their wishes,” said Cope
He said the party would issue a statement to inform the public about preparations of his funeral.
Paying tribute, President Cyril Ramaphosa extended his condolences to Cope, the Lekota family, and all South Africans who mourn this loss.
“His life was one of resilience, courage, and steadfast belief in justice.
“We honour him especially for his principled dedication to non-racialism during our Struggle and in a liberated South Africa.
“We deeply value his service to his home province where he served as premier and to our Armed Forces and our national security, in his role as Minister of Defence.
“He was instrumental in the establishment of the National Council of Provinces, which added a new dimension of democratic inclusion to our parliamentary system and ensured communities all over our country could be heard and represented in our national legislature,” said Ramaphosa in a statement released on Wednesday.
bongani.hans@inl.co.za