The Department of Military Veterans

Launch of Military Veterans' books

29 March 2022

The Department of military veterans will launch six military veterans books, as part of their continued support to military veterans for documenting their experiences and participation in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. An authentic and uncompromised narrative will be presented in the honouring and memorializing of military veterans.

The DMV through its Research unit initiative undertook to document and profile military veterans historiography, experience, knowledge, education and suffering endured by Military Veterans at different stations of their lives during the liberation war. Part of the project is to persuade military veterans to come forward with their edited or incomplete manuscripts for publication. The documentation and experiences of military in the liberation struggle through production of publications, seeks to restore and contribute to the dignity and wellbeing of military veterans by promoting and elevating their contribution to a democratic South Africa and their broader liberation struggle discourse.

Over the past three years the following publications have been produced by military veterans through the DMV Oral History project, Lest we Forget by the late Phillip Kgosana, A man on a mission by Eddie Funde to mention a few. As part of empowering military veterans already produced publication the DMV has committed to purchase a significant number of such material from military veterans themselves both as promotional material as well as collection and distribution of liberation struggle history materials.

The following books will be launched:

Khaya Skweyiya – From Activism to Disillusionment: The story of an MK Comrade,
Morena Motaung - Goodness and Sadness of being a Freedom fighter,
Mabuse Mampane – My Journey from a Rural Herd boy to MK Soldier and then Ambassador,
Lebona Mosia – All Was Not in Vain,
Gertrude Fester - Prison Note Book 1: Prison number V2957/88,
Muntu Nxumalo – Still We Rise,

The book launch will take place as follows:

Date: 01 April 2022
Venue: Freedom Park, City of Tshwane
Time: 10:00 – 13:00

The DMV is obliged to support the military veterans in line with the executive authority priority of promotion of empowerment programmes for military veterans. The Department is as mandated by the Military Veterans Act 108 of 2011 will continue to honour and memorialize fallen military veterans and document their contribution to the liberation struggle of South Africa.