ANC, SACP gear up to memorialise Fidel Castro

2016-11-29 10:47

Jenna Etheridge, News24

In this 1960 file photo, Cuba's revolutionary hero, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, is pictured with Cuba's then prime minister, Fidel Castro, in an unknown location in Cuba. Castro died, aged 90, on Friday night. (Picture: AP Photo /Prensa Latina via AP Images/file)

Cape Town - As Cubans enter their fourth day of mourning for the late liberation hero Fidel Castro, South Africans are gearing up for memorials of their own.

The former president of Cuba died on Friday at the age of 90.

In the Western Cape, the SA Communist Party (SACP) and the Friends of the Cuba Society planned to honour Castro in a memorial service on Tuesday night.

SACP second deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila will address the event at the St Georges Cathedral in central Cape Town.

The ANC would also hold memorials in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

"Comrade Fidel Castro was one of the greatest revolutionaries of our time, a great friend and ally of the ANC, the alliance, the broader national liberation movement and the people of South Africa as a whole," said ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.

While they would mourn his passing, they would also be celebrating his life, his role and contribution to society.

ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe will address the memorial in the Johannesburg City Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday night, ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will do the same at the OR Tambo Community Hall in Khayelitsha.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/anc-sacp-gear-up-to-memorialise-fidel-castro-20161129