The The South African Communist Party (SACP) conveyed its deepest condolences to the family, friends, comrades and former combatants of MK and colleagues of Mbulelo Musi calling him ‘a committed activist and a tried and tested peace and freedom loving patriot’.
Musi passed away on Thursday and the cause of his death is not yet known. In a statement, the SACP also conveyed its condolences to the entire liberation movement which Musi served diligently and selflessly throughout his life.
Musi is said to have joined MK in exile following the June 16 Soweto students uprisings against Bantu education.
“The historic protests spread across many black townships and led to him and scores of his peers and comrades leaving the county for exile in order to seek military training to come back and fight militarily against the racist regime.
“He formed part of a special generation of South African youth of his time who were prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice and lived to see the dislodging of the apartheid system and ultimate liberation of his people,” read the statement.
In exile, he became the most revered Commissar of the June 16 Detachment of Umkhonto weSizwe – the joining ANC and SACP military wing, which waged a heroic battle against ‘the barbaric apartheid security system. He was fondly referred to in the MK camps by his military and political nom de guerre – Commissar Moss Thema”.
He received his military training in Angola and then Eastern Germany and he also graduated in the then USSR with a degree in Political Science, the SACP said in a statement.
“During the difficult years of life in exile, Comrade Mbulelo distinguished himself among many other brave compatriots as a true revolutionary who was forever prepared to take up some of the most difficult of tasks in various roles in pursuit of the struggle for the liberation of his people.
“Following a stint as a camp commissar in Angola, he was then deployed in the front areas that included Swaziland and Mozambique working very closely with the exiled leadership of The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), predecessor to Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
“Comrade Mbulelo Musi survived the brutal illegal cross-border raid of Matola in 1981 when the apartheid regime went on an inhumane and horrendous attack of members of the ANC and Umkhonto WeSizwe in Mozambique.
“Sixteen South Africans and a Portuguese national were mercilessly murdered by the fascist murderous machinery of the then South African Defence Force (SANDF). Many others were gravely injured.
“The names of those who were murdered during the Matola raid and other anti-apartheid stalwarts were unveiled in Mozambique on 11 September 2015 in the Matola Memorial Monument and Interpretative Centre.
“The victims of the Matola raid received the Order of Mendi for Bravery in Gold for their bravery and heroism, bestowed upon them by the democratic South African government. Their names live on in the hearts and minds of the working-class across the world.
“Following our 1994 democratic breakthrough, Comrade Mbulelo Musi continued to serve the people in different capacities meant to foster peace and democratic development of our country. When MK was disbanded in 1993, Commissar Moss was integrated into the new SANDF.
“He furthermore served in the public service in various roles that include, but not limited to, as a communications practitioner in the Gauteng Provincial Government, National Spokesperson to the late Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya, and as Head of Communications at the Department of Military Veterans.
During the recent all-inclusive MK Unity Conference held in 2022 in East London, Commissar Mbulelo was elected as a National Commissar of Umkhonto WeSizwe Liberation War Veterans (MKLWV), a responsibility he executed with utmost dedication until his last breath.
HAMBA KAHLE MKHONTO!