Cosatu Congress Special: Paying tribute to Violet Seboni

Violet Seboni – dear mother and the mother of the working class!

Nthabiseng Mphirime

The Cosatu Congress honoured Violet Seboni, second deputy president of Cosatu, in recognition of her dedication and the contribution she made in the struggle of the working class.Seboni was killed in a car accident in April 2009 when she was on her way to mobilize voters during Cosatu’s ANC elections campaign.

Her 24-year old daughter Lesigo received the award on her behalf. Standing up on stage in front of thousands of congress delegates, Lesigo declared that “I must do this for my mother!” Holding back tears, she hesitated for a moment, before bursting into song with “Leli lizwe elamaKomanisi’”.

Delegates stood up and joined her in song. When interviewed, Lesigo said her mother had dedicated most of her time to the struggle of the working class. “She spent more time on the road trying to fight and defend the rights of the working class,” she said. “When she got the time, she would spend it with us.”

She said her mother was also taking care of their two cousins. Despite the low salary “we were all well looked after. It was difficult as she was a single parent. What we appreciated most about her was she was a great mother.”

Violet herself had never had the love of a mother. “She was raised by a grandmother who was also not a biological grandmother! My mother as busy as she was, was a socialite and also a staunch supporter of Kaizer chiefs.“We are coping just fine through the support we are getting from Cosatu, especially now that it has organised the trust fund for us.”

The bank has committed to sponsoring their education. Lesigo plans to further her studies after she graduates and she will continue taking care of her sister Lesedi who is just 13 years old.She would like to pursue a career in industrial psychology so she can follow in the footsteps of her late mother “We miss her a lot.

She was traveling a lot, you will think that she went to America and she will be back. Yet the reality is that she is not coming back.

She was a dear mother and the mother of the working class. May her soul prevail in all the Cosatu structures,” she said. Lala ngoxolo mama, sizohlala siku khumbula.Viva comrades Lesigo and Lesedi Viva!

Gone too soon but not forgotten!Goebels Mqungebe

THE LATE 2nd Deputy President of Cosatu Violet Seboni was honoured by the 10th National Congress for her service to the struggle of the exploited workers and the working class in South Africa.

She was one of the shining stars in the trade union movement and the broader liberation movement as led by the African National Congress (ANC). Her untimely departure left a void in Cosatu’s and its Alliance partners’ ongoing tasks of consolidating working class power in defence of decent work and socialism.

Seboni died in a tragic car accident on her way to the ANC’s elections campaign in the province of North West. In accepting the award on behalf of her late mother, her daughter Lesego led the 3000 strong Congress delegates in song “Leli lizwe elamaKomanisi’.

This illustrated that she was not only the mother to her offspring, but she was also a political commissar to them as part of empowering them ideologically through songs to understand that the South African Communist Party (SACP) is the vanguard of the working class and guarantor of food, shelter, education, healthcare to all.

To Cde Seboni gone too soon, your immortal living ideas will forever guide us in our revolutionary tasks for building a just, humane and socialist South Africa and world.

MEANWHILE, a gala dinner was held last night to raise funds for Cde Seboni’s two daughters. A staggering R3 million was raised which will be channeled into a trust fund to take care of her daughters’ needs.

A number of prominent businesspeople, former trade unionists and parliamentarians donated generously to the trust.

Source

Numsa News