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They Left As Freedom Fighters, Today They Return As Heroes As Their Spirits Make Their Way Home

By Zolile Menzelwa

3 October 2026 · 5 min read

They Left As Freedom Fighters, Today They Return As Heroes As Their Spirits Make Their Way Home

MEC Sibulele Ngongo flanked by family members of the fallen heroes and government officials during the ceremony in Angola yesterday. All pictures by DSRAC.

Families return from Angola carrying the spirits of 12 Eastern Cape freedom fighters as the province prepares for the eventual repatriation of their remains.

The Eastern Cape is preparing to welcome the earthly remains of 12 struggle heroes who perished during the anti-apartheid struggle in Angola. They are part of a group of 35 from around South Africa who are being brought home.

This week Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture MEC Sibulele Ngongo led a delegation of senior government and municipal officials and family members to kick-start the process of bringing the remains of these freedom fighters, who were buried in Malanje and Luanda, back to their homeland. The delegation arrived in Angola on Thursday and are expected back home this weekend.

These freedom fighters died in Angola between 1976 and 1992. They are part of the about 400 combatants of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) that died in Angola during this period. The South African authorities believe that the remains of between 30 and 50 per cent of those who died may still be recoverable.

Speaking at the spiritual repatriation service at the Viana Transit Camp in Luanda yesterday, Ngongo described the day as a stark reminder that freedom and democracy came at a price. Freedom and democracy were the outcomes of a long, protracted struggle that many people ultimately paid for with their lives, she added. The Viana Transit Camp was chosen as the location for the pre-exhumation visits and rituals because MK members passed through it during their time in Angola.

While painful, the day was also a “beautiful reminder” of South Africa’s proud history. “Not only our history, but our living heritage. This is in recognition that our heritage lives as a dynamic, people-centered expression of identity, memory, continuity and social belonging. Today, as we collect our fallen soldiers and start the journey back home, we must express our sincere gratitude to the people of Angola for the brotherly love and sacrifice they extended towards us, the ANC and South Africa," she said.

"We are; because you extended your hand to us. (You) extended that hand at a time when we were fugitives from the land of our birth.”

Ngongo said it was impossible to mention SA’s road to freedom without mentioning the massive contribution and sacrifice made by sister liberation movements in Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

The Exile Repatriation Project was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in September 2024 to facilitate the identification, exhumation and repatriation of the remains of South Africans who fell and were buried in various parts of the world during the struggle against apartheid.

Ngongo said the humanity of the Angolan government had allowed SA government to collect the remains of these soldiers so that they could be buried among their loved ones and in the land of their birth. “We collect them in a dignified manner as we are doing today, and this is due to your continued comradely spirit. To the families; while today may open up some wounds, it also begins a healing process. Your loved ones are coming home. No words can express how grateful we are as a country for the sacrifice made by your loved ones. They may have left the country as fugitives but today they rightfully begin their journey home as heroes and heroines,” she said.

Ngongo said the return of the remains represented an important moment for families and communities who have carried the pain and uncertainty of losing loved ones during the liberation struggle.

She said bringing the freedom fighters home was more than the return of human remains but about restoring dignity, reconnecting families with their history and ensuring that those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom we enjoy today, are finally laid to rest on the soil of their homeland. She said government had a responsibility to ensure that the stories, sacrifices and legacies of our freedom fighters were preserved for generations to come.

Six of the 12 freedom fighters that are now being repatriated were from Mdantsane. Others are from Gqeberha, KuGompo City, Mthatha, Komani, Matatiele and KwaMaqoma.

"Lastly, our profound appreciation and thanks for the kindness that you, our Angolan brothers and sisters, have showered us over the last couple of days.”

She said the Eastern Cape had a long-standing role in supporting the repatriation of South Africans who died in exile. Since 1998, the province had supported approximately 150 families with the repatriation of the remains of their loved ones from different parts of the world, ensuring that they were ultimately laid to rest at home with dignity.

“To our liberation movements, our unity and collaboration has brought us this far. It is a unity that was borne out of the struggle, sealed by the blood of our martyrs who gave their all for a democratic order. May we never lose sight of this and always do our best to keep this united front. For it is only through our unity that we, as a people and region, will progress,” she said.

The families of the deceased traveled from the Eastern Cape to Gauteng on Wednesday. Before leaving for Angola, they attended a ceremony at Freedom Park Salvokop, Pretoria. Accompanied by provincial officials and political leadership throughout the process, the families arrived in Luanda and were accommodated in Viana, a location historically associated with the ANC and MK as a transit camp and training base.

South African government officials, who accompanied the families to Angola.

Yesterday they embarked on traditional African and Christian religious rituals at the transit camp site, the first phase of the journey to bring their loved ones home. They are expected to start traveling home today, bringing with them the spirits of their loved ones and await the second leg of the programme -- the actual exhumation and expatriation of the remains.

The Coastal pays homage to these fallen freedom fighters and heroes: