Siyabonga Mkhwanazi
President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to Dutch anti-apartheid activist Klaas de Jonge, who died after a long battle with cancer.
Ramaphosa said De Jonge had played a key role in the struggle for liberation in South Africa.
He was part of MK’s special operations unit in the 1980s.
De Jonge (85) joins a list of luminary MK members who have died in recent times.
A few weeks ago, the ANC laid to rest another former MK combatant, Mbulelo Musi.
Musi was one of the MK combatants who survived the Matola raid in Mozambique in 1981, which left more than 12 MK members dead and a Mozambican national.
Ramaphosa on Saturday said De Jonge played a critical role in the struggle for freedom in South Africa.
He said De Jonge’s role in the anti-apartheid was recognised globally.
“From 1981 until 1985, De Jonge was a member of a ‘special operations unit’ of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed branch of the African National Congress (ANC), doing reconnaissance work and bringing in arms and explosives into South Africa.
“This led to his arrest in 1985 by the South African Police; he managed to escape and acquired asylum in the Dutch embassy in Pretoria until – after two years – he was exchanged for the South African commander of the apartheid regime, Wynand du Toit, in 1987.
“He continued to do work for MK and the Dutch Anti- Apartheid Movement until the end of 1989,” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa said De Jonge and his life partner Helene Pastoors, a Belgian citizen, were recognised for their role in the anti-apartheid struggle.
Pastoors was also imprisoned for her role in the struggle. The two were awarded the national orders of the Companions of OR Tambo.
Current Affairs