PUDEMO TAKES OVER FUNERAL, MEMBERS CARRY CASKET TO GRAVEYARD

KALUHLEKO – The funeral procession of slain Human Rights Lawyer, Thulani Rudolf Maseko, which was attended by throngs of people at KaLuhleko, was taken over by the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).

KaLuhleko is a community located about 50 kilometres south-west of Manzini and about 10 kilometres from Bhunya. PUDEMO, which Maseko was a member of, took over the funeral service of the deceased chairperson of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) from the moment his casket was to be taken to his parental homestead at about 6am. Depicting the dominance of PUDEMO during the funeral service, was the intervals in which the political party was given an opportunity to sing in between speeches by different speakers. Also, it was the only political party which was accorded an opportunity to have a speaker address the mourners. Maseko was buried in the yard of his parental homestead, which is about 30 metres west of the house in which his callous murder took place. The human rights lawyer was shot dead nine days ago, while with his wife and two minor children. His assassin fired three shot, and two of them pierced his head while the third went through his upper abdomen.

Leading

Meanwhile, leading to the burial of the human rights lawyer, there had been a short service at his homestead, which is about 50 metres from his parental home. The morning service started at about 4:30am, wherein the casket of the deceased was taken out of the mourning house. Thereafter, there was a service which lasted about two and half hours. Thereon, the gathering proceeded to the burial site. Instead of the casket of the deceased being driven to his parental homestead in a hearse, members of his political party carried it past the Toyota Fortuner Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), in which some family members were on board. Members of PUDEMO instructed the undertakers forming the funeral cortege to drive away, as they marched through the throngs of people who had partitioned themselves to allow the vehicles to drive through with the casket to Maseko’s resting place.

As this happened, the wife to the deceased, with other close family members, were already seated in the SUV parked in front of the hearse. As the vehicles proceeded to the burial site, they were followed by 10 members of PUDEMO, their youth league – Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) – and members of the PUDEMO Women’s League trailed behind them.
They were led by political party’s Secretary General (SG) Wandile Dludlu in song as he sang, ‘Icala labo linzima bazolithethi nyana’. The song was joined by the over 3 000 people who had come to pay their last respects to the deceased chairperson of MSF. A majority of the mourners were clad in T-shirts printed with the slain human rights lawyer’s picture inscribed ‘he lives on top’.

The casket, which was dark wood with a black and white animal skin print, was draped in a PUDEMO flag of green, orange, red and black.  Also, members of the political party were hoisting in the air a number of the political party’s flags as they proceeded to the burial site. At some point, the procession by the PUDEMO pallbearers was seen running while carrying the casket and in song. At that instance, the song they sang was ‘ulele akasavuki Thulani’. Thereon, they (pallbearers) took a breather and placed the casket on the ground before carrying it to the graveyard, wherein the wife to the deceased her two sons were already seated with other family members. Tanele, who was wearing a black Victorian mourning gown and veil, was seated in a tan two-seater couch with her two sons, whom she hugged with one hand, while clasping a tissue in her left palm. She was seated about 10 metres from the grave where the casket had already been placed by the political party members.

Lowering

Upon placing the casket on the lowering device, Bishop Zwanini Shabalala led a brief prayer, which was followed by another by Goodwill Masuku, who is the Superintendent of the Hhohho Circuit of the Methodist Church. Thereon, the casket of the deceased was lowered into the ground which upon completion, PUDEMO was called upon to lead the burial in their ‘norm’. As they were called to the graveside, they hoisted the political party’s flags up high. PUDEMO members sang a variety of political songs in line with grieving the death of their member. The songs included: Hamba kahle Mkhonto; Ilukhuni lendlela, inameva iyahlaba, sizozabalaza and Mario bayasibulala, saphela sizwe.  

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