SACP statement on the commemoration of Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu

[SACP Communications]

South African Communist Party

SACP statement on the commemoration of Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu

Monday, 6 April 2026:- The South African Communist Party (SACP) joins the multitudes of South Africans in commemorating the life of one of the most outstanding South revolutionaries, Comrade Solomon Mahlangu.

We commemorate not the hanging of Solomon Mahlangu by the apartheid regime, but triumph of his memory and legacy over the immoral actions of the minority racist regime and sustainability of his mission despite the aims of the oppressor. This 47th anniversary of the illegal and immoral ending of his young life by the illegitimate government of colonialists should serve as a clarion call for the renewal of our revolution and revitalisation of the revolutionary organisations that carry that revolution.

Solomon Mahlangu not only represents bravery in the face of adversity, but his life also reflects the strength and courage of youth. The life and conduct of Solomon Mahlangu communicate this key message: to be young is to be imaginative and aspirational.

To be young and incapable of transcendent imagination and devoid of revolutionary aspiration is to spend one’s youth unproductively. The ambitious tendency among the youth infuses a revolutionary spirit in the ranks of those that collectively fight for a new future, a different society defined by new norms and values. In the fold of a life of sacrifice of Solomon Mahlangu, we are called at this time to dedicate ourselves anew to the revolutionary goals that he lived for.

A life of revolutionary sacrifice and moral uprightness is the life that Solomon Mahlangu lived and a life worth celebrating and indeed emulating. In paying tribute to Solomon Mahlangu, we call upon all activists, inside and outside the SACP and the Alliance, to use the example of Solomon Mahlangu as we work to build our movement and the nation. As we deepen our fight against the scourge of corruption in our society and in the state, in particular, the representation of Mahlangu’s example and values should serve as a moral beacon.

As a party of the working class, we reaffirm our commitment to the cause for which Solomon Mahlangu lived and died, whose motive force is the working class. With Solomon Mahlangu being a symbol of revolutionary substance of our struggle for change, we dedicate this anniversary to the revitalisation of the SACP as we move to local government elections.