Government says it is saddened by the passing of 1976 struggle hero, Dan Sechaba Montsitsi, who is reported to have passed away from COVID-19 complications.

“Government sends its deepest condolence to his family and friends,” the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said in a statement.

Montsitsi was one of the leaders in the Soweto Student’s Representative Council (SSRC) that led the student marches against the encroachment of the Afrikaans language as a medium of instruction in schools.

His activism led to him being arrested in June 1977. He was one of the Presidents of the SSRC, served in the South African Student Movement in 1974, and was an executive committee member of the National Youth Organisation, according to the GCIS.

After 1994, he became a member of the democratic Parliament of South Africa and served as a member of the joint standing committee of defence as well as other select committees.

“Montsitsi was part of the youth of 1976 that contributed towards the realisation of [a] free and just society. He was known for being vocal in the fight for equal education for the youth.

“As a country, we are grateful for the resilience and determination by the youth of 1976 that was led by leaders like Montsisi who stayed the cause for a fight for a free and just democratic South Africa,” Director- General of GCIS, Phumla Williams, said.

Source: South African Government News Agency