Sipho Mutsi celebrated through heritage project

The Free State provincial government in collaboration with the Lejweleputswa District and Matjhabeng Local Municipality pulled out all the stops during a two-day Sipho Mutsi Heritage Preservation Project.

The project unfolded in Kutlwanong, Odendaalsrus to commemorate the death of the young activist and leader of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas).

Popularly known as the “Barefooted Comrade”, Sipho Mutsi became involved in politics at a young age. On 5 May 1985, at the age of 17, Mutsi died in police custody during interrogation at the Odendaalsrus prison.

“We feel very proud to be part of the community where such a legend who fought for the rights of black people to be liberated in South Africa was born,” said Pule Makgowe, Ward 18 councillor and the chairperson of the ANC’s Sipho Mutsi branch.

According to Makgowe, if the youth of South Africa had half as much passion and drive for their fellow men as Mutsi and his peers during the apartheid era, crime, unemployment, and poverty would inevitably decrease.

“The youth in South Africa needs to educate themselves about the circumstances in which our country finds itself and form collectives that will change the direction of the country like the generation of the ‘80s.”

The legacy of this young political activist was preserved through a heritage project which includes a documentary film, a declaration of Mutsi’s grave as a heritage site, and the construction of a sport precinct in Kutlwanong.

Sipho Mutsi: Barefooted Comrade is a poetic and thought-provoking 95-minute documentary drama that traces the life of Mutsi from the time when his parents took him to the village of Mokhalinyana in Lesotho in the ‘70s until the early ‘80s, when he returned to Odendaalrus to start his schooling.

The documentary also narrates his involvement in the fight against the apartheid system, which caught the eye of the then government, and depicts scenes of the police station where Mutsi died.

“I feel proud and privileged to be a part of such a great nation,” said Julia Motseki, after watching the documentary on Sunday.

As part of the Sipho Mutsi Heritage Preservation Project his grave is in the process of being declared a heritage site. The process, spearheaded by the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (PHRA), is at an advanced stage.

The R27-million sport precinct, which forms part of the project, entails a number of state-of-the-art sport and recreation facilities.

According to Motseki, who was a netball player at her high school in Kutlwanong, the sport precinct will benefit the community since the current stadium is not in a good condition.

She said this would give the youth an opportunity to develop their talents in a safe environment.