Family to get closure as MK vets to be buried 41 years after their death

The remains of one of three former Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) cadres who were confronted by the Bophuthatswana homeland security forces while on a reconnaissance mission to infiltrate the country 41 years ago are to be buried in Boksburg on Saturday.

Bheki Cyprian Hlatshwayo, aka MK Bismark, was with fellow guerrillas, Vuyani Goniwe (MK Jorrisen) and Tladitsaga Moses “Moss” Molefe (MK Ncosi), and had crossed the border into South Africa from Botswana on foot near the Ramatlabama border post and walked through the night.  But in the morning of October 27, 1978, near Mahikeng they were spotted by a helicopter and confronted by members of the Bophuthatswana National Guard.

Bismark and Jorrisen reportedly died from shootings and grenade explosions in the skirmish that followed but their fellow unit member MK Ncosi was shot in the leg and escaped but captured the following day. MK Ncosi was later charged in the well-known Pietermaritzburg treason trial and later imprisoned on Robben Island.

Now, 41 years after his demise, his family is expected to get some closure when Bismark will be buried on Saturday, September 14 at the Thomas Nkobi Memorial Park in Boksburg. The service would be held at Zonkezizwe Community Hall, Katlehong before the cortege proceed to Boksburg.

Umkhonto Wesizwe Military Veterans Association chairperson Kebby Maphatsoe describes Hlatshwayo as “one of the best cadres” of Umkhonto Wesizwe. “He was killed brutally while on a mission to infiltrate the country,” Maphatsoe said.

READ MORE: Veterans’ bodies must unite under one banner, insists ANC

According to a statement issued by the ANC Gauteng, both the Goniwe and Hlatshwayo families, as well as fellow MK members, searched for their remains for years without success. While it was believed that they were buried in Mmabatho, the precise site could not be located as there are no records for the old cemetery. But the Missing Persons Task Team (MPTT) in the NPA conducted extensive investigations and excavations at the cemetery and after opening twelve graves, a grave containing two young males with multiple traumatic injuries buried in a single coffin was located.

Forensic examination and DNA tests were conducted by the MPTT to distinguish between the two skeletal remains, to confirm their identities, and their cause of death. A special ceremony was hosted by the ministry of justice in July 2015 to hand over their remains to their families.

Goniwe was then reburied at his home in the Eastern Cape while Bismark’s reburial was delayed by consultations between the ANC and his family and challenges within the family.

Born in Soweto in 1949, Bismark grew up and schooled in Mafikeng. He worked as a male nurse in Johannesburg before he left South Africa in 1976, joining the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe. He underwent his basic military training in Angola, as well as a further six months training in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), followed by a survival course in Zambia with Joshua Nkomo’s ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army) forces.

In October 1978, he was deployed to Botswana for infiltration into South Africa, the time Bismark and Jorrisen met their demises and Molefe was caught and later imprisoned.

Maphatsoe said that as MKMVA, they would like to see all cadres given dignified heroes’ burials.

“It’s a pity that we have not done enough as the government to ensure we honour these comrades properly, some we are being selective, but in reality, the government wheel grinds very slowly,” he said.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.