The assassination of social activist Mokoena Letsie is a stark reminder that political violence remains a stain on South Africa’s democracy, South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi declared during a funeral address earlier today.
Letsie, a prominent community leader, was allegedly shot 17 times on May 27, 2026, in the Hashtag informal settlement. Speaking at his funeral in Potchefstroom, Vavi condemned the ongoing targeting of truth-tellers and accountability advocates across the country.
“We are reciting just too many of the social activists. The people who are fighting for justice, the people who are holding those in authority accountable, the people that are fighting corruption and who are whistleblowers are being silenced themselves,” Vavi said.
He reflected on a pattern of violence against activists and whistleblowers, referencing several recent victims without naming them: a whistleblower in Mbombela; another activist in the same region; a community leader in the North West province; union activists from SAMWU silenced in the Bloemfontein region; three senior leaders killed for exposing irregularities around the VBS scandal; a brave civil servant in the Gauteng Department of Health; and a worker leader in the North West province who was killed alongside 34 others while demanding a living wage.
Vavi asserted that these killings are not isolated incidents but part of an “indefinite trend” linked to higher political authorities and entrenched networks of criminality and patronage. “There is an indefinite trend of killers who we have no doubt are linked to higher authorities in the political spheres in the networks of criminality and patronage that continue to cause ravage amongst the people who are truth tellers in society,” he stated.
Despite the grief, Vavi pledged that the sacrifices of Letsie and others would not be erased from public memory. “We will not let the sons and daughters, their own flesh, be forgotten by the people of South Africa,” he affirmed, addressing Letsie’s family and the families of other victims.
The funeral drew community members, union representatives, and civil society allies, all united in mourning Letsie’s death and renewing calls for justice and an end to politically motivated violence.
