Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President, I move:
That the House -
(1) notes with sadness that on Thursday, 30 July 2009, Mahwidi John "Mokgomana" Phala passed away;
(2) further notes that hon Phala joined the African National Congress in 1953 and immediately became part of the people who moved from village to village to solicit inputs for the Freedom Charter and also attended the historic Congress of the People that adopted the Freedom Charter;
(3) recognises that in 1954 hon Phala, together with leaders such as Flag Boshielo, Elias Motsoaledi, Lucas Kgaphola, Oriah Maleka and Mogaramedi Sekhukhune, to mention but a few, formed an organisation called Sebatakgomo to organise migrant workers from Sekhukhuneland who were working in areas around Johannesburg;
(4) recalls that Sebatakgomo played a leading role in a militant uprising in May 1958 against the apartheid regime's attempts to introduce the diabolic scheme of extending race discrimination by introducing Bantu homelands, a scheme that included the curtailing of cattle numbers, fencing, land partitioning, Bantu regional and territorial authorities and enthroning and dethroning of chiefs by the apartheid state;
(5) remembers that in 1961 "Mokgomana", as he was known by his comrades, was amongst the first to join uMkhonto weSizwe and was part of the Mzimhlophe unit before he went on to organise his own units in areas such as Moletsane and Naledi;
(6) further remembers that in 1976 he was arrested and sentenced to thirty years on Robben Island and while on Robben Island he shared a prison cell with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe;
(7) acknowledges the great contribution that the late John Phala made as a Member of a Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 1999 and of Parliament since 1999 and also that he served in various portfolio committees;
(8) believes that hon Phala was an honest leader who leaves behind a legacy of dedication and hard work; and
(9) conveys its condolences to the Phala family and the African National Congress.
I thank you, hon Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]