There will be memorial services for the founder of Cope who was honored with a state funeral, Mr. Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota.
There will be two memorial services for Lekota that will be held before his funeral. The first memorial service for Lekota will be held on Wednesday, in Soweto. The second service will be held on Thursday, in the state where he was born, the Free State.
These plans were revealed by Cope’s family and leadership when they spoke to the media.
The family and Cope leaders said that there will be a service every 6 pm at Lekota’s house until the day of the funeral.
The acting leader of Cope, Mr. Pakes Dikgetsi, said that they are expecting a lot of leaders who will come to shout at the swanna this week.
Dikgetsi said that among the leaders who will come, ANC leaders are also expected. Lekota defected from the ANC in 2008, and founded Cope.
“We have spoken to the leaders of the ANC. In fact, we started talking to them when we informed them that Lekota has left us. We expect that it will be the leaders of the ANC who inform us of their plans.”
Dikgetsi said that everyone is crying over Lekota’s death.
“We hope that Lekota’s death will motivate us to revive Cope.”
Lekota will be buried on Saturday, and he was honored with a state funeral in the second stage.
The spokesperson for Lekota’s family, Mr. Pitso Sekhoto, said it is possible that President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend the funeral.
“I am on the committee planning the funeral. The thing that emerged from the discussions is that the President wants to come to the funeral. The issue of whether he is really coming will be confirmed by the relevant bodies later.”
It is not clear whether Ramaphosa will be back in the country on Saturday, as he attended the funeral of a preacher known for fighting for human rights, Jesse Jackson, in America.
Ramaphosa left America for Brazil, where he will meet with the PresidentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
He will conclude his trip to Brazil tomorrow.
Ramaphosa’s Office announced the honoring of Lekota with a state funeral. The spokesperson for the President’s Office, Mr. Vincent Magwenya, said that Ramaphosa ordered the flags to fly down.
Mangwenya said Ramaphosa decided to honor Lekota with a state funeral because of the role he played during the struggle against the apartheid government and the role he played in the democratic government.
“Ramaphosa highly praised the work done by Lekota when he was the prime minister of the Free State and the good work he did in the defense force. There have been many compliments since the news of Lekota’s death came out. That is why the President has decided to honor him with a state funeral.”
