EVERY year on 30 September, the ANC in Mpumalanga celebrates the heroic acts of cadres who were ambushed and murdered in Diepdale.
But for widow Rose Mazibuko (44), the celebrations don’t bring any relief.
Instead they serve only to remind her of what she and her now 22-year-old daughter have lost, and how different their lives would have been if her husband, Meshack Motha, were still alive.
“Every year the ANC celebrates his life and what he gave for the struggle, but we as his family have nothing to show for it. His child lives in poverty and has no prospect of a bright future.”
Although she has since re-married, Rose feels the pain and the loss of her husband as if it happened yesterday.
“I was three months pregnant when the cops and soldiers stormed our home,” she said. “My husband and I were dragged outside and beaten up.
“ I knew that my pregnancy had been affected.”
Meshack and nine others were charged with the murder of a local chief aligned to the IFP.
The 10 were ambushed after attending a court case in Mayflower. Unknown gunmen, believed to have links with the dead chief’s son, opened fire on their vehicle. Meshack and three others died.
“No one was ever arrested,” said Rose. “I had to raise a child born with mental problems because of the beating I received. Meshack gave his life for the freedom we enjoy today, at the expense of those he loved.”
