PAC veteran joins fallen comrades

Man who fought for return of Poqo 14’s remains dies after reburial PAN Africanist Congress (PAC) veteran and Poqo cadre Phumelele Nkwenkwe Gaqa shocked mourners at the weekend when he collapsed and died while talking at the reburial of one his comrades in Mthatha. Gaqa, 75, who miraculously escaped being hanged after his arrest 53 years ago, had been campaigning for years for the return of the remains of 14 of his Poqo comrades hanged in Pretoria in 1963.

Although his health deteriorated last year, he vowed that “I will only die after the return of the remains of my comrades”. The exhumed remains of his 14 comrades were returned home to Bhaziya on February 11 by Justice Minister Michael Masutha. Gaqa had called for the government to supply the village of Bhaziya with clean water as well as provide financial support to the grandchildren of his Poqo comrades. He also called for unity of the now badly divided PAC. At the funeral on Saturday of Mili Poli, one of the returned 14 and the first of the funerals for these men, Gaqa again pleaded with the municipality to supply the village with clean water.

He said Bhaziya was the only village in the country where 14 of its residents were hanged at the same time for the same act and the country owed the village, especially as it was in one of the most impoverished areas in the Transkei region. His nephew, Mncanana, said Gaqa had struggled to breathe halfway through his speech at the funeral and asked if he could give the rest of it seated. “He then collapsed,” Mncanana said. “As we were taking him home, he died. “He waited for the return of the remains of his comrades before he died. We are sure that he will be happy to join them.” Gaqa and 22 other men from Bhaziya had been arrested after five white construction workers were killed in a quarry near the Mbashe River on the R61 between Ngcobo and Mthatha. Fourteen of them – named the “Poqo cadres” – were hanged on July 3 1963. They were: Mbhekaphantsi Vulindela, 18, Sihelegu Vulindlela, 28, Sandunge Vulindlela, 30, Bhonase Vulindlela, 46, Malize Vulindlela, 30, Bennet Mpetu, 20, Right Mangqikana, 53, Bawokazi Mangqikana, 30, Nqaba Memani, 30, Siwana Mlahleki, 31, Mili Poli, 43, Mthalathala Xhego, 20, and Dumisa Galeni, 30. In an interview last year, Gaqa said: “Now I will be in the throne of God and joined to my 14 departed comrades.” The family has received messages of condolences from the PAC, the ANC government and traditional leaders. Bhaziya’s Chief Ntsika Minenkulu Joyi said: “I am very saddened with the passing on of tat’uGaqa. He was an adviser to three generations of traditional leaders – my grandfather, my father and myself. “He was a fountain of wisdom – we have lost a pillar of remarkable strength.” Sport, Arts and Culture MEC Pemmy Majodina, who visited the Gaqa home yesterday, said Gaqa would be included in the funeral list of his 14 comrades. “He died working for the people of Bhaziya and knocked on each and every door to ensure that the remains of his comrades were returned,” Majodina said. Masutha’s spokesman, Mthunzi Mhaga, said: “The minister and the whole TRC [Truth Commission] and Missing Persons Team are saddened at the passing of such a courageous patriot. “He even fought tirelessly to ensure the families of departed patriots got special pensions. Our department will soldier on in its quest to exhume more patriots and bring them home.”