THE FOUNDER of the race to commemorate the ANC veteran, King Albert Luthuli, Mr. Zakhele Gumede is saddened by the lack of recognition of this hero.
Gumede was speaking after this race called Luthuli Walk which is held every year. This year’s is the tenth year in a row since it was established in 2016.
According to Gumede, this hero who was the first to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 seems that his name is not celebrated the way it should be celebrated.
“I don’t know if this is being done. After all, here we are talking about the first President of the ANC, a person who should be talked about regularly. There should also be many studies done on him so that the story of him becoming a disgrace is not talked about,” explained Gumede.
He said that there must be many buildings named after this hero, but he said that is not the case. However, he said that there is a glimmer of hope as races of this type may bring back some sense to senior officials and see the need to promote Luthuli’s name.
He said he was impressed to see the race grow every year because that is in line with the promotion of Luthuli’s name.
The Mayor of KwaDukuza, Mr. Siduduzo Gumede, said it is exciting to see the race grow every year.
However, the mayor said he is worried that the race has not yet reached the level of benefiting local businessmen.
He said that they have committed themselves to work very hard so that finally it is said that the businessmen are getting something.
“In things like this, there must be something that benefits the community. I think that’s what is missing from this race. But everything else is still going very well,” explained the mayor.
The mayor stressed that they are very proud that they are doing something to remember their hero, Luthuli.
A member of the Luthuli family, Ms. Veli Luthuli, said that every time there is this race, they feel sad but also happy. He said he felt happy when he saw Luthuli’s name being highlighted.
Umunyu said that it was caused by the fact that Luthuli was killed innocently. He said that now the wounds have healed because the High Court of Pietermaritzburg has finally revealed that it was not true that the hero was hit by a bullet but killed.
History reveals that Luthuli died on July 21, 1967 at the age of 69.