SEBOTHELO – A SERVANT OF GOD AND THE ANC

Former freedom fighter and the first Free State ANC provincial secretary, Kaizer Sebothelo, has been described by his family as a God fearing man and an ANC loyal servant.

Sebothelo was honoured for his hard work in a fight against the apartheid government and for dedicating his life to serve and change life of South Africans for the better under the ANC government.

The Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM) and the ruling party renamed the Botshabelo Stadium after the Botshabelo hero, Sebothelo, who was also a member of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) on Saturday last week.

Sebothelo, who was in Bloemfontein in 1966 and grew up in the strife-torn community of Botshabelo, died in a car accident on September 2, 1996.

His father, Buti Sebothelo, told The Weekly that he is proud that his son dedicated his entire life to the liberation of black people.

“My son always put God first in everything he was doing. He contributed a lot in a fight against the apartheid regime and successfully served people of this country till death took him. That was his life since he saw the need to fight during the 80s while he was still at school.

I still thank God even today for giving me a chance to raise such a hero who will always be remembered for his heroic acts while service the people of this country.

“I want to thank the Municipality and the ruling party for honouring my son and making sure that his name lives on for ever,” said Sebothelo.

Hundreds of Botshabelo community members gathered at the stadium to witness the historic event.

Maletsatsi Mofokeng (22) said she is happy that the stadium had been renamed after Kaizer Sebothelo.

“I believe that the move to rename this stadium is long overdue. I might not know him personally even if he grew-up in this dusty streets of Botshabelo where we live but I feel like I know him now,” said Mofokeng

The ANC described Sebothelo as a fearless soldier and leader of the ruling party who was never afraid to confront the apartheid system and remained resolute in his commitment to the struggle.

MMM deputy mayor, Connie Rampai, said the municipality responded to the call by Botshabelo residents to honour Sebothelo.

“This event is organised as culmination of a series of public hearings on the renaming of streets and public amenities. However, the process of renaming of the streets and public facilities is just but one step in the process of healing our nation, which we undertake to ensure that we eradicate any reminder of our painful past. As we do this, we are not just filling these spaces for no good reason.

We must at all times remember that along the struggle to achieve humanness and freedom, selfless characters and nation builders fell for a very good and honest course,” said Rampai.

She urged the community of Botshabelo and Mangaung to protect and jealously guard the stadium against vandalism and theft.

“Let this venue be a place where joyous memories will be borne and where the future generations will come together and pay their respect to the generation that liberated our beautiful South Africa,” said Rampai.

Rampai said the municipality is convinced that naming the stadium after Sebothelo was a befitting honour for his selfless contribution to the struggle against apartheid.

“Let us all start referring this facility by its true name for sacrifices made and lives lost in our journey to arrive where we are today.”