Mamelodi (MKMVA) Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association under the umbrella of (SANMVA) South African National Military Veterans celebrated their 62-year anniversary birthday of MK.
The birthday was celebrated under the theme “Mamelodi military veterans fight against gender base violence”.
The celebration was held at the Arts Centre in Mamelodi west, Tshwane on 23 December 2023.
Mamelodi (MKMVA) Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association dance and sings the revolutionary songs.
Amongst the guests were Mamelodi military veterans, SAPS, SANCO, TASEZ, members of the South African National Military Veterans Association, Pastors.
Military Veteran Commissar Willy Sibande told the Tshwane Talks that we are celebrating the 62 years anniversary of the MK Mkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association that is one of the affiliates.
We are celebrating the anniversary under the theme “Mamelodi military veterans fight against gender base violence”.
The agenda here is GBV gender base violence against women and children’s that is perpetrated by our own.
We can no longer sit on the fence and behave as if this scourge is not happening within our military veteran fraternity.
We have decided to face this scourge heads on by this year’s discussing all about making a special topic about GBV not on the history of MK but on the sketch that is perpetrated by our own against women and children.
“We are encouraging people to go out there and get help and get counseling and heal and this is a demon and people need to be cured out of it,” Sibande said.
He said the MKMVA manifesto was relevant in the 1960’s and is even more appropriate today as well, when scourge of violent perpetuated against woman and children is affecting our community at large on a daily basis.
We military veterans’ fraternity shall not submit, but to fight within any means at our disposal against gender-based violence.
With mass mobilization in our community using all the available tools and opportunity to make awareness campaign, that will include all stakeholders in Mamelodi together we with SAPS, TMPD, CPF, Gauteng community safety department, business association, malls, taxi industry MATA, MALDTA and Tshwane Barekisi forum.
“As we celebrate 62 anniversary of the formation of MK, we will not turn blind eye against perpetrators of GBV against our sisters and children.
But to expose the scourge and report it to the relevant law enforcement agencies and let the law takes it course against such violent,” he said.
Sibande said our plans going forward is not to involve the politics into this matter, we know we are bitter about it the government and about the ANC, but we want to separate these things so that this sketch is a spiritually thing. This is a demon and people need to be cured out of it.
“People are afraid to talk about it and they are afraid of damaging the image of the MK and we are calling on members to speak up and get help,” Sibande said.
Mamelodi West police Colonel Mokgopa said GBV in Mamelodi is on the rise and it’s growing every day and we as police officers we are fighting the scourge of GBV by hosting awareness campaign at schools, community halls, public space. We have many cases of GBV.
“We are encouraging victims not to drop the case and we as police officers we are not allow to drop the charges only the court can do that,” Colonel Mokgopa.
