MDC-T SA heaps praise to Cain Nkala murder accused

Representatives of Zimbabweans various political parties and civil rights groups met in Johannesburg, Tuesday evening to pay their last respects to Remember Skhumbuzo Magwala Moyo, who died last week.

Moyo (42), who was the MDC-T chairman for Johannesburg South district, died after a short illness last Thursday, leaving behind his wife and two sons.

His body was set to leave South Africa Wednesday morning for burial in his Filabusi rural home in Matabeleland South.

Speakers who took to the podium took turns to heap praise on the fallen MDC leader, who was at one stage detained by the Zimbabwe government for three and a half years on charges that he abducted and killed former war veterans leader, Cain Nkala.

Moyo and his fellow MDC members were acquitted of the charge, but not before they were tortured and detained for months on end in solitary confinement without trial, as Mugabe tried to instill fear and stop them from campaigning for the MDC.

Speakers paid tribute to Moyo's continued fight for democracy in Zimbabwe, his bravery, leadership qualities and quest for unity among Zimbabweans.

Representatives promised to continue the fight that the late Moyo had been involved in and pledged to assist his family with their basic needs.

Kwanele Moyo, the newly-elected MDC-T chairman for South Africa, described Remember's death as a loss to the whole of Zimbabwe, as he stood for a just Zimbabwe built on democratic values that would leave everyone enjoying total freedom.

"In his own way Remember led a nation and through words, he gave voice to the voiceless, through deeds he gave courage to the faint hearted," said Moyo.

"Through his vision he pointed the way to the Promised Land. He was a man who through his sheer determination endured the humiliation of arrest, the loneliness of a prison cell, the constant threats to his life but continued to believe in the redeeming power of love.

"From the mountain top he is pointing the way for us – to a land that does not punish a man for having a different opinion and daring to make that opinion known. To a land where the terrible and inhuman conditions he often described and was subjected to in prison will no longer be tolerated. The land Remember is pointing us to, does not segregate on the basis of tribe, gender or political affiliation nor does it reward the corrupt and punish the innocent. We in the MDC would like to make our solemn promise to Remember that we will do all we can to live to the same vision he had and that his pain and suffering shall not be in vain."

Remember Moyo was once accused of being behind the murder of another MDC activist  Lungile Moyo,who was in his early 20's, who was brutally hacked to death in intra-party fighting in South Africa. Lungile Moyo was killed after clashes between members of the MDC Zimbabwe Action Support Group (ZASG) and members of the mainstream MDC South Africa branch. Remember Moyo was the chairman of ZASG at that time.