There will never be another Billy Masetlha: Thabang Makwetla
“The question that looms large in all our minds is: what was the meaning of his life to us and what is life going to be without him?” said deputy minister of defence and military veterans Thabang Makwetla, paying tribute to South Africa's ambassador to Algeria Billy Masetlha.
The former head of the National Intelligence Agency died aged 68 on Sunday after a lengthy illness. He was buried on Saturday.
“He was a real product of his time, the renaissance years of the ANC ... post the political lull of the late 60s and early 70s,” said Makwetla.
“I recall fairly well that it was in January 1979 when comrade Joe Gqabi paid us a surprise visit at our camp at Qibaxe in Angola, where after his address he left us inspired, confident and encouraged, eager to return home to fight to the end, as a result of the insights he shared with us on our strengths and opportunities as the ANC and the weaknesses of the apartheid regime at the time.
“He submitted that if it were not for the arrests that occurred around the Pretoria 12 trial, we were going to see, emerging within the mass democratic structures, a practice where all the important political calendar days of the ANC were commemorated annually inside the country. During the trial of the Pretoria 12 in 1977 we ended up knowing the names of Billy Masetlha, Murphy and Super Moloi by heart.”
Makwetla said this chapter in the renewal of the ANC post-1976 was instructive and one the ANC today may benefit from examining.
“The exploits of comrade Joe Gqabi and Billy’s peers are legendary in this respect. In December 1979 upon my return from training in Russia, I was sent to a new camp of MK north of Luanda called Caxito to be a political instructor there.
“I was intimidated when I went for the first class with them because I did not know what to expect, but I was conscious that the presence in the group of members who were trained meant that I could not be basic in my presentation.
“The topic for the day was, 'the move to armed struggle', an expośe of the requisite conditions thereof, and 'the five fighting factors' necessary to sustain the armed struggle.
“A member from among the new comrades, who I did not know, raised his hand for the opportunity to speak and I instantly obliged.”
Makwetla fondly remembered Masetlha as a man who liberated him.
“To this day, I still thank Billy for liberating me because you would never catch me dead wearing bermudas [after] my high school days. Billy was my inspiration.
“He was confident and daring. Except the day he abandoned me, surrounded by a hostile Sansco [South African Students' Congress] conference in Durban in December 1990, [about] the ANCYL establishing branches in institutions of higher learning. Only much later did I understand why Billy opted not to engage,” he said.
Makwetla said most importantly, Masetlha possessed the ability to quietly generate undercurrents that would quickly gain momentum and result in desired outcomes.
“That made him naturally an asset in our assignment, which was a resounding success. It is for this reason that comrade Billy remained an influential cadre to his last days. He did not only love the ANC, Billy was jealous of the ANC and could protect the ANC from the ANC.
“The challenge of our national project to transform South Africa is getting even harder. His void will be felt through many difficult moments to come, because indeed there will be no other Billy Masetlha.”
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