The ANC and EFF Host 2 Separate Events in Honour of Anti Apartheid Activist Chris Hani's 80th Birthday

• Anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani's 80th birthday was commemorated by the African National Congress and the Economic Freedom Fighters
• The ANC hosted an event in Hani's hometown of Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, 28 June
• South Africans took social media to share some of their favourite quotes said by Hani and also honoured the respected freedom fighter

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress and the Economic Freedom Fighters have taken the time to host two separate celebrations in honour of the late anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani's birthday.

The well-respected politician would have been turning 80 years old on Tuesday, 28 June, however, he was brutally murdered 29 years ago, on 10 April 1993.

The ANC led a celebration event in Hani's hometown of Cofimvaba and the Eastern Cape premier and ANC provincial leader Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane joined the festivities where many were gathered in song and dance. The ANC even had a custom-made cake in honour of the fallen freedom fighter.

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The EFF also honoured the late Hani and wrote a touching message about the anti-apartheid activist. The party stated that Hani was a principled freedom fighter who understood that political freedom without economic freedom meant nothing.

The full post reads:

"Chris Hani was the most principled, dedicated, selfless, and revolutionary Freedom Fighter who understood that the attainment of political freedom without the attainment of economic power to defeat the poverty and unemployment of the oppressed masses was meaningless."

The EFF will be hosting an event on 29 June at the Chris Hani Development Centre, Sabalele Village and it will be led by the party's deputy president Floyd Shivambu.

Hani started his political career and fight against apartheid while he was still a student in 1957 when he joined the Society of Young Africa(SOYA) for six months before joining the ANC, according to SA History.

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He then joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) in 1961. Hani was also one of the first people who volunteered to join uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) the military wing of the ANC in 1962, however, in the same year, he was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In 1963, Hani left South Africa for the USSR to receive military training along with 30 other MK comrades. His influence throughout the years still captures the hearts of many South Africans.

From being a military veteran to championing peace in South Africa and standing firm on his communist beliefs Hani was inspirational to many, even after his untimely death in front of his Boksburg home at the hands of Janusz Walus, an anti-Communist Polish immigrant.

South Africans remember Chris Hani

Heading online, South Africans shared a few messages in honour of Chris Hani's birthday.

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@tamilmarxorg said:

"Chris Hani was a Marxist, the leader of the South African Communist Party. His Famous Quote was "We must teach cadres that there is a need to fight and talk, and if talks fail we must go back to fight. #birthanniversary (1/2)"

@Constitution_94 said:

"Chris Hani would have been 80 years today. The only man who couldn't stand the tribalist thuggery of Jacob Zuma. He would have been at the forefront of calling for the urgent arrest of Jacob Zuma for donating the State to the Guptas."

Janusz Walus apologises for Chris Hani's murder, claims to be reformed and rejects apartheid ideologies

Briefly News previously reported that Janusz Walus, who murdered Chris Hani in 1993, has applied to the Constitutional Court to grant him parole after serving almost 30 years of his life sentence.

In his application documents, Walus claims that he has been reformed after his nearly three decades in prison. He says he is more religious now, particularly in keeping with his Catholic upbringing, and that he has rejected apartheid ideologies that fuelled his crime.

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According to News24, Walus' previous parole application in March 2020 was denied by Ronald Lamola, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. This was his third unsuccessful attempt at being released on parole.

Source: Briefly News