5 February 2016
31 January 2016 has marked a 10th anniversary of the passing of the late Provincial Secretary of the South African Communist Party in Mpumalanga, Comrade Juda Komotedi Tsotetsi.
Cde Juda started his life of active struggle while at high school in Sizwakele Secondary School as a member of COSAS and later led this scholar movement. He was later recruited to the ANCYL, ANC and SACP in the early 90s. Due to his passion to the transformation of South Africa he then decided to join the South African Police Force after completion of his matric where he served with distinction, but the barriers that existed within the force itself made him to continue with the struggles of the workers within the force fighting for transformation and that made him to take an active role in POPCRU and soon after that he started leading as a result of his commitment, in no time Cde Juda was a Provincial Secretary of POPCRU.
This was, of course, not outside of his commitment in the other structures of the movement, including the SACP. He served in the branch of the SACP known then as Secunda branch and later became the youngest Provincial Secretary of the SACP at a tender age of 27. Cde Juda was later released by POPCRU to SACP to serve on a fulltime bases. He championed the work of the SACP to an extent that, while he was not a Central Committee member he was tasked with a responsibility of being the President of the North Korean Solidarity Association an international body on behalf of the CC.
As a young dedicated Provincial Secretary, the Party also mandated him together with other young committed cadres of the Party amongst them Cde Smiso Nkwanyane, Jacob Mamabolo and others to research and work on the re-establishment of the Young Communist League of South Africa, a task that was well executed with excellence as we all know that in 2003 December the YCLSA was re-established. His commitment to the work of the working class made him very popular within the structures of the ANC as they took notice of this young man whom was all over the show dealing with issues of national importance and members of the ANC deemed it fit for him to serve in the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC.
In the meantime he had moved away from his hometown of Embalenhle closer to the provincial office of the SACP at Witbank now known as Emalahleni, but a cry was made to him of the toiling communities of Govan Mbeki Municipality which needed a person of his caliber and experience to come lead as the Executive Mayor which he accepted after a number of engagements from comrades and he emerged as a leader in the list processes but unfortunately it was not meant to be as he collapsed during a door to door campaign of the ANC on the 26 January 2006 and later passed on, on the 31 January 2006 a few months from the local government elections.
The SACP in Gert Sibande has decided to dedicate all of its work in the month of February 2016 to his memory, which includes Memorial Lectures, Cleaning campaigns, Elections campaigns and many other campaigns that he had implemented as a leader of the Party which have not realized their objective. As we will celebrating his life coincidentally we are also going to be faced with the seating of the trial of the murdered fellow comrade of comrade Juda, Comrade Bomber Ntshangase from the 15 - 19 February 2016 at the Delmas High Court. We are thus calling for justice to take its course not only unto those trigger pullers but also to their handlers.
Issued by the SACP Gert Sibande District
Contact
District Secretary
Nhlakanipho Zuma - 081 347 2840
Spokesperson
Mduduzi Zulu - 082 809 8442