21 March 2015, Xikundu Village, Limpopo Province
Long live the spirit of Collins Chabane, long live!
Long live the spirit of Collins "The Animal" Chabane long live!
Thank you programme director,
Honourable president of the Republic and of the ANC;
ANC National Executive Committee Officials;
Leaders of the ANC in the Province;
Second Deputy General Secretary of the SACP, Solly Mapaila,
All leaders of the SACP;
Leaders of COSATU;
All leaders of our movement and veterans here present;
Leaders in government;
The entire family, the wife and children of Comrade Collins Chabane,
On Sunday morning between half past two and three I received a call. On the other side it was the Director-General in the Presidency. He was choking. He couldn`t say what exactly the reason for his call was. I couldn`t put together and make an idea of what he was actually saying.
So I hanged up the phone but then called him back. I wanted him to confirm, that indeed he was certain about what he was telling me. He confirmed, that Comrade Collins Chabane is no more. I was in Polokwane to perform the organisational work of our movement; he asked me because of this proximity to go to the scene to check what has happened.
When I arrived there I received a detailed briefing from the police who were extremely technical about what happened. I cannot even remember most of the things they said at that time. "About two motor vehicles carrying so many occupants and passengers and all sorts of things", they said. I had already seen what was left of Comrade Collins`s car. What I was now anxious about was to confirm whether it was indeed him. I was however hesitant to meet the reality that we may have lost one of the rarest breed within our movement.
When I went on to see and confirm, that it was indeed him, together with his two protectors, something in me died. I probably had the misfortune, that yes we mostly saw Comrade Collins smiling but thenceforth, each time I think of that day, each time I think of that morning:
To put on military regalia is not about brandishing and bragging about what you stand for. It is about facing real ammunition and the bush-something which I and those of my age may probably never experience because of the dedication and commitment of Comrade Collins.
The first time I saw Comrade Collins was in a youth league conference in 1994 when he was the Provincial Secretary of the ANC. He was speaking at that conference. Right in the middle of his speech he burst out in this very short laughter - which amused me. No one laughs at the joke they make the way Comrade Collins laughed. It was not even a paragraph laugh, it was an exclamation laugh and then it ended there.
The next time I saw him was in 1996, I think I was just above fifteen years of age at the ANC conference in Tivumbeni. There I saw the animal at work. He was summarising a huge report to be presented at that conference and reproduced it overnight; he ultimately presented it; and such was the nature of the cadre that we lost.
Very few leaders come and go without us remembering anything that had happened between their comings and goings. Yet this humble servant of our people; this humble servant of the movement; this humble father and husband, has always ensured that, and with humility, he dedicate himself to the needs, interests and aspirations of our people. Never an opportunist; never a populist! At all times he would be sitting there quietly, yet when he intervened his interventions would be always memorable. His interventions would ultimately be what guides the meeting, what guides society and also influence the cause of our history.
The greatest monument we can build for Comrade Collins is to go back to basics. It is to remember that the challenges that confront our movement need a special type of a cadre. It is to invest our resources in the political training of our young cadres. There is no other way in which we can expose the weaknesses of those opposed to our revolutionary cause except through well-trained cadres.
Our opponents will shout; they will hurl insults; they will bang tables, because that is all they know. We are soldiers. We are better equipped intellectually and otherwise, to be able to engage them and to be able to expose the fury that their arguments and their positions contain.
The second monument is to build a cadre in the public service who will serve the needs, interests and aspirations of our people without expecting any reward; without pursuing any personal interest and without corrupting the system.
The third monument we can build is to serve our people with compassion and dedication without expecting any form of personal ambitions; any personal wishes must be the collective aspirations of those we are elected to lead.
As a society we will always be faced with challenges to resolve. This community is no different. But whatever challenges there are would require the levelheadedness and maturity of Comrade Collins Chabane to overcome.
May his soul rest in peace!