/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The African National Congress (ANC) has received the news of the passing of its Member of Parliament and President of Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), Comrade Kebby Maphatsoe, with shock and sadness. Death has robbed the liberation movement of one of its most courageous and fearless cadres.

Like many young activists of his generation, Comrade Kebby went to exile during the repressive years of apartheid and became a trained Political Commissar of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). He received military training in Angola and the Soviet Union. He lived in Uganda before returning to South Africa.

Comrade Kebby is a former member of the Congress of South African Students and the Soweto Youth Congress, as well as a former member of the South African Youth Congress.

Comrade Kebby was elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC during the 53rd National Conference held in Mangaung in 2012.

In 2014, Comrade Kebby was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.

The ANC will miss the constructive role he was playing in the efforts of the ANC to forge unity among former MK combatants and preparations towards the 60th anniversary of the people's army.

We salute him for his dedication and  unwavering commitment to the national democratic revolution.

The ANC conveys its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and the entire mass democratic movement. We hope they will find solace in the knowledge that the entire nation shares in their grief. We wish them strength and fortitude as they mourn their loved one.

May his revolutionary soul find eternal peace!

Issued by The ANC