Funeral For the Late Lieutenant General Sindile Christopher''Pitso'' Mfazi 15 July 2021
Memorial Service held on 13th July 2021 in Pretoria SAPS Head Office
Thanks Giving Speech during the Memorial Service of Sindile Pitso Christopher Mfazi
1. This is a vote of thanks on behalf of the family of Mfazi, but it is also a vote of thanks on behalf of those who were trained in the trenches by u-Pitso in Umkonto we Sizwe. I am here on your behalf to plead farewell and to thank him and to thank you for the road travelled.
2. On the eve of the death of Martin Luther King, he spoke passionately of the struggle of King David to unite God’s people and to move them towards their destiny. Life is a long and continuous story of setting out to unite the people but not being able to finish it, said Martin Luther King.
3. Today, as we mourn the death of this unsung hero Sindile Christopher Mfazi, fondly known by those close to him as u-Pitso, he dreamt of the day this country shall get out of the bosom of slavery, the long nights of injustice, in some way his heart’s desire to get to the promised land expressed itself against injustices to his death bed.
4. So often as he worked also within the ANC to build the temple of peace, often times he was discouraged by some within the ranks of this great liberation movement who have discretely drank the poisoned chalice of the cup of corruption.
5. I got to know him as a man who never minced his words against injustices, never minced his words against maladministration and corruption. As the country we live in has come to be characteristic of worshiping the corrupt in our society, he was often one to be accused of being on the wrong end of the stick and would oftentimes be berated by the Joneses.
6. This, however, did not deter him from speaking out from the heart against the evil of corruption and abuse of power. Regrettably, within the ranks of his movement, the ANC, he would argue, that the movement Mfana Wam’ has been infiltrated. It has been infiltrated by those who manipulate the position of power to get rich, but even so through systemic corruption and by undermining the rule of the law.
7. In many ways, he reminded me of the Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
Which provides that:
“We the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustice of our past;
(‘We’) Honour those who have suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
(‘We’) Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country…
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt a Constitution as supreme law of the republic so as to-
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
8. Sweet irony ! Oh what sweet irony indeed that the very ones meant to prevent, to combat and investigate crime and to maintain public order have come to be the very perpetrators of crime.
9. As I salute this unsung hero, the Family calls upon the leadership of the SAPS and the Intelligence Services, to take a leaf from this olive tree and to run with full steam and endurance in pursuit of a just society where we shall all live in safety and peace with our neighbours.
10. I am consoled by the fact that this man lived a life worthy of recognition for his contribution in the liberation struggle. Not only did he sacrifice his youth for the freedom and liberation of his country, but he also sacrificed his family time for the people of South Africa by immersing himself in a sustained programme to weed out corruption and malfeasance that is so endemic and deep rooted in our society.
11. I came to understand, through our conversations that he had a very strong bond with the National Commissioner Khehla Sithole and together they were a part of the leadership, led by the Honourable Minister, of a team of leadership that fought corruption from within the ranks of the SAPS and outside without fear or favour.
12. In conclusion, and I quote from Martin Luther King : “Well, I do not know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountain top…And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know …, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land”
But “How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.
How long still? Not long, you shall reap what you sow…
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
13. The Mfazi Family appreciates this memorial of the greatest within the ranks of the SAPS and the Intelligence Services from the depth of our hearts, as we mourn his passing let us march on for the ideals for which he lived and for which he was prepared to die.
14. The Family appreciates the undying spirit of this comrade whose foundation in the struggle for the liberated South Africa was embedded in his love for humanity, and our greatest appreciation is that he was given space within the SAPS to do what he loved most, and that was to serve his country with excellence. I pay a special tribute to you my brother.
15. There is a saying, legends do not die but live on. May the Spirit of this hero find sweetest repose. His commitment, his story will be engraved as a memorial in the archives of freedom.
ALUTA CONTINUA
(sgd) Adv. Lindela Mfazi