Cape Town - The South African Students Congress (Sasco) deputy president, Buyile Matiwane, 30, has passed away. According to a statement released by Sasco, Matiwane passed away on Monday following a short illness.
“It is with deep sadness that Sasco announces the untimely passing of its 21st deputy president Comrade Buyile Sangolekhaya Bernard Matiwane, who succumbed to death on Monday, at his residence after a short period of sickness.”
Matiwane was also serving as a Provincial Congress Preparatory Committee member of the African National Congress Youth League of Western Cape.
“Comrade Buyile will be remembered for his love and appreciation for reading, writing and dialogue within the structures of the movement, which has seen him rise through the ranks of the student movement, student governance and the Mass Democratic Movement in general,” reads the statement.
The organisation pleaded with the public to kindly give the family space to mourn in peace during this difficult period.
Messages of condolences flocked social media following the announcement of Matiwane’s passing. He was known as an orator and an academic. He was also at the forefront of the fight for free quality education in the country.
He also frequently wrote opinion pieces for various media houses.
Congress of South African Students (Cosas) president Thabang Mokoena said they have lost a true compatriot, revolutionary and academic who played an active role in transforming the education system of South Africa.
“As the head of Sasco international relations, he travelled across the world to find solutions to the problems South Africa is facing in relation to the unequal education we are confronted with.
Matiwane is also renowned for being an outright communist which the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) largely depended on with regards to the presentation of new ideas, drafting of documents and clarity provision.”
He added that Cosas mourns Matiwane’s passing with an understanding that South Africa has not only lost an ordinary human being but a pioneer of change.
“We convey our deepest condolences to the Sasco family, the entire students’ movement and the Matiwane family.”