Hon Speaker, Xhamela, Ministers, colleagues, I move the draft resolution printed in my name on the Order Paper as follows:
That the House -
1) notes with great sadness the news of the passing of the former Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, Mr Joe Matthews, 81, who died of natural causes in Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg on 21 August 2010;
(2) further notes that Matthews was born on 17 June 1929 in Durban and that he was the son of African National Congress leader, Z K Matthews;
(3) acknowledges that after matriculating in Johannesburg in 1947, Matthews went on to obtain a BA degree from Fort Hare University in 1952, an LLB from the University of London in 1956 and a Masters Degree in History from the same institution 12 years later;
(4) recognises that his career in politics and the legal profession spanned six decades after he joined the ANC Youth League as a teenager in 1944 and that he and his father were among the 156 accused, along with Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other senior ANC leaders in the 1956 Treason Trial which ended in 1961 with the acquittal of all involved;
(5) further recognises that he joined the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1992 and served as Deputy Minister of Safety and Security from 1994 up to his retirement a decade later in the cabinets of both former president Nelson Mandela and his successor, Thabo Mbeki;
(6) remembers Joe Matthews as a great South African, a hero of the struggle for freedom and a man whose sharp intellect and keen understanding of South Africa's history, challenges and potential made him an invaluable resource to our country; and
(7) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and comrades of the late Joe Matthews, to the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party.
When a man passes away at a great age, the sense of injustice which often accompanies death is less acute than in the case of a younger person. Man is allotted three score and ten years as a lifespan. The ones who are blessed, like Joseph Gaobakwe Matthews and I, to live past this measure, are believed to have had and led a full life. People will say surely there is nothing more an octogenarian can still long to do. Surely regrets are far behind him and some will say he has had his innings.
But today, as I offer my message of condolence on the passing of one of South Africa's greatest sons, I do feel regret. I regret that I have been robbed of an opportunity to share another good conversation with my beloved friend, Joe. I regret that his sharp mind, a veritable library of knowledge, will no longer challenge mine as we explored ideas, theories, philosophies and dreams. I regret that his warmth and gentle humour will no longer brighten my days. I regret that South Africa had merely a lifetime of Joe Matthews because more certainly would have enriched us. Even to the end of his days, Joe's mind remained brilliant. There was nothing senile about him.
I know that the popular thing these days is the belief that old men can't lead. Last week we were enlightened by the Leader of the Youth that even in the ANC, not only in the IFP, their old men must be shown the door. [Laughter.]
Colleagues, I know that I am not alone in longing for more time with Joe Matthews; his daughter, the hon Naledi Pandor, has suffered a terrible loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I am grateful to the hon Minister for her kindness in keeping me informed of her father's brief illness and for contacting me, even from the hospital, when he passed into eternity. Joe was blessed to have such a daughter who would consider his friends in the midst of her own suffering.
There are many who will mourn the loss of Joe Matthews, but the deepest pain is reserved for his children and family. May God be their comfort and strength.
This afternoon I had the privilege of speaking at a memorial service in which we paid tribute to the memory of our former colleague. I noted then that his life, like that of any prominent leader, will be written into the history books in terms of accomplishments and regrets, mountain peaks and valleys.
History tends to record the pivotal moments of a human being's life, while friends and loved ones record through their memories the trivialities and daily witness of character that give a fuller and truer sense of a man. Even as I spoke this afternoon, I was aware that history is not a perfect record, because it is written by human beings - people. Every person has an agenda, a viewpoint, a belief and a motive. The record of Joe Matthews' life will not always be perfect and it will be up to us who knew him to challenge distortions and set the record straight.
The decisions that Joe Matthews made were closely watched and analysed, in part because he was a brilliant historian and lawyer, who wrote prolifically; and in part because he was the son of Professor Z K Matthews who had already earned the respect and admiration of black South Africans and the international community. He was also under scrutiny because he was a gifted political strategist who engaged in the struggle of our country.
When Joe Matthews entered the University of Fort Hare in 1948, he immediately joined those who established the Fort Hare branch of the Youth League, to which both of us belonged. Joe and I met at Fort Hare and we quickly became good friends. As students, we shared a passion for law, history and music; and we cut our political teeth together in the ANC Youth League. We also shared a passion for South Africa's liberation. We engaged in deep discussions with one another, late into the night. We often spoke about freedom and also about our teachers, our classes and our great loves.
Our long friendship, which eventually spanned 62 years, offered us an insight into each other's character. I will not hesitate to say that Joe was an exceptional man, honest, warm and delightful to listen to. I think it was because Joe knew me so well that he was able to support me when I rejected the armed struggle, which the ANC in exile brought to South Africa.
Joe recounted in his interview about the book: The Long Walk to Freedom, how His Excellency, Nelson Mandela, came to him with the idea of an armed struggle and they discussed its potential as a tool of liberation. He recounted how the idea was posed to other leaders and was accepted. Joe knew that I could never have agreed to bloodshed and loss of life, even as a means to gain political enfranchisement. To my mind, it was too high a price to pay, considering that we would eventually reach the same goal through passive resistance and negotiations.
As a Christian and a patriot, I could not lead, at the time when I was in charge of KwaZulu-Natal only, to take up arms, because our country would have been reduced to ashes with no spoils of war for anyone to inherit. Joe, although he was a member of Umkhonto Wesizwe, supported my stand and never withdrew his encouragement or his friendship.
In the same way Joe understood and supported my rejection of nominal independence for KwaZulu-Natal during apartheid. Had I been honey-trapped into seeing KwaZulu-Natal become a Bantustan, millions of black South African would have been deprived of citizenship once liberation was achieved. It was a decision that looked to the long-term future of our people. I thank God for vindicating that decision many years later, as former President F W de Klerk admitted before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that it was this decision that finally made the grand scheme of apartheid untenable.
Because of this history, I must confess that it angered me to read in last week's Sunday Times that a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee, NEC, the hon Dr Pallo Jordan, told the newspaper that Joe Matthews' legacy had been stunted by two of his decisions: to support Bantustans and to join the IFP. Dr Jordan said this as if these things besmirched the memory of Joseph Gaobakwe Matthews. To me, it was a distasteful utterance, to say the least, and a cheap political pot shot.
I was angered on behalf of my late friend and also saddened for his daughter, our hon Minister, to have an insult levelled against her father, coming from within her own party. It is not the first time she has suffered because of foolish words, hastily spoken within her own party. I cannot help but think of the ANC Youth League President's attack on her beautiful accent, acquired because of her father's exile during the liberation struggle. How insulting, when her own father founded the ANC Youth League!
I know that grief can so easily take the disguise of anger. My frustration at seeing history falsely recorded is amplified by the pain I feel at Joe Matthews' passing. I cannot stomach the idea that the immense contribution that my friend made to the liberation struggle, the field of law, our democratic negotiations, to safety and security and to remembering our country's past the way it actually happened, may now be diminished just because he gave his allegiance to the IFP and his friendship to Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
I became used to unjust vilification myself, but it pains me to see my friends suffer by association with me. Let us not allow the truth, my dear brothers and sisters, to be painted over. Joe Matthews began in the ANC Youth League, briefly joined the SA Communist Party in the fifties, and fell out with the ANC in the seventies. He joined the IFP in 1992, and served in the Government of National Unity for the first ten years of democracy. After he retired, the ANC-led government sought out his wisdom and advice. Joe's brilliant intellect was always in demand.
When he returned from exile in 1991, Joe returned to a country on the brink of change. In my view, it would have been a loss for South Africa to forgo his contribution as we negotiated a democratic dispensation. I had no qualms whatsoever in sending him to Kempton Park as a key part of the IFP's team. When we reached the point where international mediation was required, the IFP sent Dr Frank Mdlalose and Mr Joe Matthews for discussions with Mr Thabo Mbeki, Mr Jacob Zuma and Mr Penuel Maduna. Agreement was then reached on the terms of reference for mediation.
When the interim Constitution established a Government of National Unity, I again had no qualms in putting Joe Matthews forward for the position of Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, which His Excellency, Mr Mandela, gave to him. It was in this position that some of us in the House had the privilege of interacting with the hon Joseph Gaobakwe Matthews. It is right that we remember him in this House today and honour the contribution that he made to Parliament and the government of South Africa.
His memory will remain alive in the hearts and minds of those who loved him; which is most of us, across all parties. May history remember him as he was - a brilliant historian, gifted leader, patriot, and a hero of South Africa's struggle. Amandla! HON MEMBERS: Awethu! [To the people!] [Applause.]