The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) marks the 12th anniversary of the passing of Ntate Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, a revolutionary whose life embodied the highest values of our people: sacrifice, courage, selflessness, integrity, and an unshakable commitment to justice.
Mandela must never be remembered as a lone icon but as part of a mighty generation of freedom fighters whose collective discipline, unity, and principle changed the course of history. This includes his fellow Rivonia Trialists, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Denis Goldberg, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond Mhlaba, and Andrew Mlangeni and the thousands of unnamed heroes who risked everything so the majority could taste freedom
Rejecting the Revisionism That Calls These Leaders “Sell-outs”
SAFTU condemns the growing revisionist trend especially among those who benefit from the freedoms won, that labels Mandela and his comrades as sell-outs simply because they did not resolve every contradiction of apartheid capitalism in their lifetime.
This insult is not only historically false; it is politically dishonest. No generation completes the entire mission of liberation at once. As Frantz Fanon taught us, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it.”
Mandela and his generation did not betray their mission. They accomplished what was historically possible under brutal global conditions, including the collapse of the socialist bloc, Western hostility, and severe internal repression. They secured the democratic space, constitutional protections, and political freedoms that laid the foundation for future generations to advance the struggle for economic liberation.
On Land and Section 25
Yes, Section 25 of the Constitution represents a compromise that did not fully reflect the demand for land restitution and redistribution. But it is false to claim that the Constitution prevented land reform.
Section 25 explicitly allows for expropriation without compensation where justified. It does not block redistribution. What has failed is not the Constitution. It is successive governments that have lacked the political will, courage, and integrity to use the tools available to them to return land to the people
The betrayal of land reform belongs to post-1994 leaders, not to Mandela’s generation.
The Real Betrayal: Ours
Fanon warned that the tragedy of post-colonial societies is not that the liberation generation failed it that the next generation betrays its mission.
Today, the betrayal lies in:
- Rampant corruption;
- The capture of public institutions;
- Austerity that crushes workers and the poor;
- Elite enrichment masquerading as transformation,
- Mass unemployment and growing hopelessness among youth;
- Broken promises on land, housing, healthcare and education.
Mandela’s generation opened the path. It is our generation that is failing to walk it.
Their Legacy Demands Struggle, Not Comfort
The Rivonia generation lived values deeply rooted in working-class struggle:
•Sacrifice
•Selflessness
•Integrity
•Discipline
•Courage
They put their lives on the line because they believed in the worth and potential of ordinary people. They believed in a South Africa where the wealth of the land is shared, where dignity is a birth right, and where justice triumphs over greed.
SAFTU’s Commitment
On this anniversary, SAFTU recommits itself to honouring Mandela and all freedom fighters by fighting for the mission they passed to us:
- To end austerity and halt the destruction of the public sector
- To defeat corruption, both public and private that robs the poor
- To push for true land restitution and redistribution
- To resist privatisation and defend public goods
- To fight a living wage, decent work and economic equality
- To build unity between workers, communities, the unemployed, students and youth.
Mandela and his comrades fulfilled their mission with distinction. It is now up to us, the post-apartheid generation to stop betraying ours.
To honour Mandela truthfully is to continue the struggle for the South Africa he envisioned: free, equal, united, and just.
Long live the memory of Nelson Mandela. Long live the Rivonia generation.
Long live the struggle for true liberation!
A statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi
For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at
Newton Masuku at
0785164094
Media Officer
Asive Dyani
0719019564
