On April 6, the ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, led the annual commemoration of Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu at Mamelodi West Cemetery. He was joined by the Mahlangu family and the Mamelodi community on Monday.

Mbalula said the commemoration reaffirms the ANC’s commitment to preserving the memory of liberation heroes and inspiring current and future generations to uphold the values for which they fought.

“The commemoration stands as a solemn tribute to a revolutionary martyr of the liberation struggle, whose courage and ultimate sacrifice continue to inspire the nation’s ongoing pursuit of freedom, justice, and equality,” said Mbalula.

The service honoured the struggle icon executed on April 6, 1979, at the age of 23.

He said the ANC took a decision then that this “day cannot just pass because this history must be taught to the young and must be a day of remembrance to know that this freedom indeed was not free”.

“We want the new generation to know that there are people categorised by the comrades of Cosatu, that, at the [age of] 19, Solomon Mahlangu [had not committed] any crime,” he said.

Oliver Tambo, an ANC stalwart, campaigned worldwide to stop the apartheid government from hanging Mahlangu, however, he and other freedom fighters paid the ultimate price.

Mbalula said, “We are gathered today to remind ourselves that the struggle continues, to remind ourselves that indeed the struggle was not free.”

On the morning of the commemoration day, the Mahlangu family walked the 52 steps he would have walked to the gallows at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre, accompanied by Gauteng MEC members, together with ANC provincial and regional leadership.

This was followed by the journey to Mahlangu’s gravesite in Mamelodi West Cemetery, and a memorial lecture at Mamelodi West Community Hall.

Mahlangu was born in Pretoria on July 10, 1956, and attended Mamelodi High School to Grade 10 when it was closed due to ongoing riots.

He joined the ANC in September 1976 and left the country to train as an Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier.

He returned a year later with Lucky Mahlangu (not a relative) and Johannes Motloung to deliver weapons to ANC operatives in the country.

They were spotted in Goch Street in Johannesburg and accosted by the police. A gun battle then ensued in which two people were killed and three civilians were injured.

In the chaos, Lucky escaped, while Motloung and Solomon were arrested.

They were charged with murder and treason under the terrorism act.

It was determined that Motloung had been responsible for the deaths, but he suffered a serious brain injury during interrogation and was declared unfit for trial.

Mahlangu was convicted and sentenced on March 2, 1978, to death by hanging.

He was executed on April 6 the following year.

There were fears of crowd violence if his funeral was open to the public, and so he was buried in secret in Atteridgeville.

His remains were exhumed in 1993 and reburied in his hometown, Mamelodi, on April 6 – the date of his death 14 years earlier.

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