Stof believed in non-racialism and was a true democrat. He believed in critique, and that no individual is above scrutiny. Most importantly, Stof believed that the masses cannot be passengers in our programme of social transformation. He viewed the struggle as an organic connection with the masses, and took direction from what the collective decided. He was deeply disappointed with the recent phenomenon of the politics of individuals which he referred to as the cult of personality.
On 15 August 2016, African National Congress (ANC) senior leader Makhenkesi Stofile died. His death marked another tipping point in the fight against state capture. Stofile was deeply concerned about the degradation of South Africa’s democracy and had been sounding alarm bells for some time.
His penultimate act of protest was his instruction to his family that President Jacob Zuma should not attend his funeral – an unprecedented move in the history of the ruling party where the incumbent President, as a sign of mutual respect, delivers the eulogy at senior leader funerals.
Stofile was one of Jonas’s closest friends and his mentor and had asked him to be the Master of Ceremony at his funeral. Jonas honoured this opportunity by giving voice to the depth of the threat the country was facing. To do this, he brought together various courageous ANC and civil society leaders to speak at Stofile’s funeral, their brief being to speak truth to power. In his introduction as MC, Jonas delivered the following message, which set the tone for the funeral: “In bidding farewell to Cde Stof, a true revolutionary, it is important to reflect on what Stof stood for, and how we can infuse these values and principles back into the movement. Stof was a unifier. He was not a factionist who sought division at the expense of the greater organisation. He never purged anybody, but brought back into the fold those who had contested leadership positions against him. He always defended the Alliance on the premise that the Alliance was key to ensure the primacy of the working class in the struggle. He was deeply saddened by the state of affairs in COSATU, and the current unity of the Alliance. Stof was a mobilizer. He believed in a strong civil society, and that the state needs to be held in check by a robust non-governmental sector. He believed in non-racialism and was a true democrat. He believed in critique, and that no individual is above scrutiny. And most importantly, Stof believed that the masses cannot be passengers in our programme of social transformation. He viewed the struggle as an organic connection with the masses, and took direction from what the collective decided. He was deeply disappointed with the recent phenomenon of the politics of individuals which he referred to as the cult of personality.”
The funeral became a rallying call for change and led news the following day.
