SA leader’s emotional Mazimbu tour

Dar es Salaam. South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that Morogoro Region in Tanzania – which hosted guerrillas who were fighting for freedom of his country – has a special place in his heart.

Mr Ramaphosa revealed this yesterday during his tour of Mazimbu, the place in Morogoro which harboured South Africans who were struggling to end the apartheid system of government in their motherland.

In the event, the South Africa President revealed that some of his relatives were born in Morogoro, including two of his nieces.

“Morogoro and Tanzania have a special place in my heart because not only was Tanzania home to the African National Congress freedom fighters (‘Umkhonto we Sizwe,’ ANC’s armed wing) but also because part of my family lived here,” Mr Ramaphosa recalled, bordering on the emotional.

“My two nieces, who are my brother’s children, were born here, and their afterbirths were buried here – making (Mazimbu) part of us that can never go away,” he revealed.

Mr Ramaphosa also visited the graves of freedom fighters at the Solomon Mahlangu College of Science and Education (SM-CoSE) in Mazimbu.

Describing his visit of the graves as “a very moving moment,” the man said “we’re going down memory lane. The people who were laid to rest here fought for our country… I’m most grateful to Morogoro residents and the Tanzania government,” he said in an event that was televised live.

The South African President was accompanied on his tour by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, some cabinet ministers and officials from the two governments.

“You didn’t just host us during the struggles; you also gave us (burial) land for our heroes who died during the struggle against apartheid, and we will always appreciate this,” he virtually emoted.

It was a moving moment for a South African woman in the entourage who revealed that, “for more than 32 years, we (the family) didn’t know where our father was. Finally, we found out from reliable sources that he had died in Tanzania during the liberation struggle in South Africa, and was buried here (in Mazimbu)!

For his part, Prime Minister Majaliwa called on the African countries to honour liberation fighters – also reassured the South Africa President of continuing cooperation.

Speaking during the visit, the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, asked President Ramaphosa to honour the-then Morogoro regional commissioner, Ms Anna Abdallah, who was tasked by the ‘father of the nation,’ the late President Julius Nyerere, to oversee construction of the Mazimbu Liberation Camp.

Kabudi suggested naming a road or street in South Africa after her.

In a lighter moment, Mr Ramaphosa said he at times speaks in ki-Swahili – and thanked President John Magufuli for helping him to learn the language.

The South Africa President, who vowed to work on improving his ki-Swahili, recalled that President Magufuli gave him Swahili books last May when the latter toured South Africa.

President Ramaphosa concluded his two-day state visit yesterday, but remained in the country to attend the 2-day Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) which starts in Dar es Salaam today.