South Africa’s war veterans, known as the Umkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), on Saturday said they had no intention of disrobing military uniforms during special occasions like funeral ceremonies honouring fallen comrades.
According to MKMVA president Kebby Maphatsoe, the organisation’s top leadership would not stop its members from wearing uniforms as requested by a group within the MKMVA for fear of abusing the attire in efforts to attach themselves to some ruling African National Congress party factions.
Maphatsoe reminded those making military uniforms disrobing demands that the ANC’s 54th party conference duly authorised the veterans to proudly wear their uniforms on special occasions if they so wished.
“Our uniform is our legacy, our history and heritage. We cannot throw it away. This is organisational and is about our history,” Maphatsoe said.
He added: “Anyone who has got a view that we must not wear a uniform, must know the conference is the highest decision-making body that can take that decision — not anyone who is speaking in the media and just wants to be seen (making noise).”
Maphatsoe’s remarks follow calls by the MKMVA’s Eastern Cape Province on the ANC to stop veterans of its former military wing from wearing the regalia.
The association’s provincial secretary Petros Vantyu insisted that some people used the uniforms to advance factional politics within the party and this compromised the dignity of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) as a veterans’ organisation.
“It’s been misused many times. Sometimes we are misrepresented by people who are marching – but not marching in a proper way at our funerals,” Vantyu said.
“It has been used by people who are demanding this and that from government, whereas there are processes that people should follow in engaging government structures and the Ministry of Military Veterans.”
“In fact, it really misrepresents what MK stood for. It has been used for factional battles of the ANC by people with nefarious motives,” Vantyu said.
NM/jn/APA