SACP message of heartfelt condolences to Barayi family on demise of children of Elijah Barayi, the late stalwart of our liberation struggle

[SACP Communications]

South African Communist Party

SACP message of heartfelt condolences to Barayi family on demise of children of Elijah Barayi, the late stalwart of our liberation struggle

Saturday, 14 March 2026: - The South African Communist Party (SACP) conveys its heartfelt message of condolences to the Barayi family on the death of the daughter and son of the late South African liberation struggle stalwart, Comrade Elijah Barayi.

The two Barayi siblings, daughter Connie Barayi and son Mzimkhulu Barayi, died within a short period of each other, with Mzimkhulu dying on 9 March on the day of his sister’s funeral, after hospitalisation.

The SACP also conveys its message of condolences to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which Comrade Elijah Barayi led as its founding president from 1985.

Comrade Elijah Barayi led Cosatu until 1991, contributing to the federation’s growth in the fight for better working conditions and social rights, and retired from all his political work in 1993. He dedicated his life to the service of the working class until he breathed his last in 1994.

As the SACP, we are grateful to the Barayi family for giving to our liberation struggle one of their best sons to serve the working-class struggle against capitalism, whose contribution helped to usher our country into a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.

In tribute to both Connie Barayi and Mzimkhulu Barayi, the SACP will continue to play its vanguard role in the uniting and strengthening of the working class towards the dismantling of the exploitative capitalist system and building socialism.