ANC EC CONDEMNS THE KILLING OF NEHAWU PROVINCIAL DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape would like to express its shock and disgust at the cold-blooded murder of NEHAWU Eastern Cape Provincial Deputy Chairperson,Comrade Lizo Vakala.

Comrade Vakala’s lifeless body which was burnt beyond recognition was discovered by police in the evening (Tuesday 25 October 2022) around 21h00 at the bushy area next to Addo Road , Motherwell in Gqebera. He was reported missing on Saturday, 22 October 2022 at Kwazakhele driving a white VW Polo car.

He was always at the forefront of the struggle to liberate the downtrodden masses of our people and spent time in detention without trial at St Albans prison in 1985 under the notorious state of emergency. Upon his release from detention he became part of Motherwelll Forum.

Cde Vakala will be remembered as a loyal and a forthright cadre of the movement who served the ANC with integrity and never wavered in his fight for social justice, having served in the ANC structures since the movement was unbanned in 1990.

ANC deployed Comrade Vakala as a Motherwell Ward 31 Councillor in the then Port Elizabeth Transitional Local Council (TLC) from 1994 till 1995. He was elected to serve in the ANC Nelson Mandela Regional Executive Committee (REC) in 2002 and got re -elected again in 2006 . Comrade Vaks as he was affectionately known led the ANC Ward 58 ( Nomkhosi Mini Branch ) as Branch Chairperson for many years and also led the ANC Motherwell Zone as Chairperson. He was appointed to serve in the ANC Nelson Mandela Regional Task Team (RTT) in 2014 . He spent all his political activism life as a shop steward of NEHAWU and in the organizational life of our glorious movement.

Comrade Vakala`s political activism cut across the entire revolutionary tripartite alliance, having held leadership positions within all the structures of the alliance formations.

He was a born leader and did not need to hold a position or have a title to serve both his organisation and his community. By any standard, his exemplary loyalty to the African National Congress and the labour movement is recorded in the annals of history and impossible to erase. He had a deep understanding of what it means to truly serve the masses of our people and this is a legacy he leaves behind. A very skillful negotiator and very humble leader, Comrade Vaks was known for his political acumen as well as an ability to explain complex political concepts to ordinary workers. Comrade Vaks remains a symbol of dual membership of the ANC-led Alliance. An Alliance forged and nourished through the selfless blood of workers and the downtrodden.

We implore the country’s law enforcement agencies to pursue, arrest and prosecute the heartless and cold-blooded killers of Comrade Vakala .It’s extremely worrying that criminals continue to kill innocent souls unabated with impunity in Nelson Mandela Bay with no one getting arrested.

The time has come for the wheels of justice to roll over those who continue to prey on innocent South Africans.

As the Congress Movement , we lower our banners in honour of this fallen cadre and we hope that his death will not be in vain.

We would like to express our sincere condolences to the Vakala family,relatives and comrades within the labour union for their tragic loss.

May they find solace in the knowledge that we painfully share their loss and thank them for having borrowed the ANC, the labour movement and the country this incomparable son of the soil.

END….

ISSUED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS-EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE

Enquiries :

Cde Gift Ngqondi

Provincial Head of Communications

Mobile No:0849519924/0848439706

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