SACP mourns the passing away of Cde Jeremiah Njanja "Tshepo Wa Dikapeso" Semudi 26 September 2013 The SACP is extremely saddened by the passing away of one of its militants, Cde Jeremiah Njanja Semudi, affectionately known as Commissar amongst the structures of the organisation. The Comrade passed away last night, 25 September 2013, after he had been off sick for sometime. Cde Jeremiah Njanja "Tshepo wa Dikapeso" Semudi was born on the 17th April 1962. It`s rare that we refer to activist as giants but we can say without fear of contradiction that a giant has fallen. The entire mass democratic movement has lost one of its loyal, disciplined militant and a selfless servant of the people. A prolific artist is no more with us and yet the sound of him rendering his favourite poem titled "Who am I", a poem he dedicated to the fighting history of the SACP, still reverberates across the length and breadth of our country. His poetic voices were captured in the liberation journals such as Sechaba, Umsebenzi and the African Communist. Images of him taking to the podium to lead the singing of the Communist anthem, The Internationale, at SACP gatherings are still fresh in our minds. Commissar was an uncompromising Marxist- Leninist scholar of note, and hated the system of capitalism wholeheartedly. He was the first to volunteer to defend the movement and articulate its positions without fear in the public domain. He was proud to count himself as a footsoldier of the movement. He was a prolific writer and enjoyed ideological debates. As an educator people enjoyed his teachings given his ability to simplify things and agitate for radical action. Cde Semudi served not only the SACP but the entire liberation movement. He joined the people`s army, uMkhonto we Sizwe, in a quest to liberate his people from the yolk of oppression. He embraced Marxist-Leninism for he appreciated its scientific outlook towards providing solutions to the problems that ordinary South Africans are con fronted with. Cde Semudi left the country to exile through Mozambique, where he was mistakenly arrested together with other comrades and spent two years in jail. He went to Angola where he received military training under the auspices of the joint ANC-SACP military wing uMkhonto we Sizwe. After the completion of his military training and he was sent by the movement to further his studies at the Magdeburg in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) at the Institute of Social Sciences where he completed his first degree. He studied military science in the Soviet Union where he also completed his Masters degree in Social Sciences, Political Economy and International Relations. He held several other postgraduate qualifications. Whilst in Moscow he also played soccer and was in the A-Team of the professional side Spartak Moscow. Cde Semudi was well known within the MK circles as Tshepo wa Dikapeso the Fighting Commissar who led many frontline crucial battles and raids against the marauding reactionary forces of UNITA in Angola that led to a strategic paralysis of their fighting capacity. Upon his return from exile, Cde Semudi was integrated into the new army for a democratic South Africa, the South African National Defence Force. He rose through the ranks and become a Warrant Officer Class 1. He left the army with that rank and continued to serve in the Reserve Force providing much needed support and giving experimental training to new recruits. At the time he met his unfortunate death he was a member of the District Executive Committee of the SACP in Linda Jabane District (Johannesburg) and in the employ of the SACP as it National Political Education Officer. The SACP sends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and relatives of Cde Semudi. The entire movement is in pain but none of our feelings can come closer to the pain you feel. Cde Semudi was a dedicated father, brother ad uncle not only to the Semudi family but to the 51.77 million South Africans. Semudi was of the people! Semudi will continue to live amongst the people for he was indeed a giant and yet supremely human. Long live uMkhonto! A fighting warrior of the working class, a freedom fighter! Hamba khahle qabane! Issued by the SACP Contact: Malesela Maleka SACP Spokesperson - 082 226 1802
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 09:27:09 +0000
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