A life of struggle, a legacy of principle: Tribute to Bruce Kannemeyer

Former African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament Bruce Kannemeyer has passed away at the age of 60 after a brave battle with cancer. Shaun Byneveldt, South Africa's ambassador to the State of Palestine, pays tribute to the ANC stalwart.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”

Today we mourn a brother, friend and comrade; a fellow traveller on the long and difficult road of struggle, who lived not for himself, but for the oppressed, the marginalised, the destitute, those in despair and need.

Today we grieve a life that was never his own, but was given - wholly, sacrificially - to the cause of freedom, to the struggle for a South Africa that is free, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, united and prosperous.

Today we remember and celebrate a man who refused to stand on the sidelines of history, one who threw himself body and soul into the furnace of revolution - a man who understood the sacred injunction to do justice.

Cde Bruce walked the path of revolution not for power, but for the people. His was not the politics of greed, but the high and difficult road of values and principle. While others lost themselves in the fog of self-interest, Cde Bruce remained anchored in the principles, values, culture, traditions, and the moral compass of the ANC.

Ché Guevara says, “The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”

And love was Cde Bruce’s weapon. Not love that is weak or sentimental, but love that demanded justice, love that risked everything, love that stood against the machinery of oppression, love that carried within it the fire of the Spirit. Cde Bruce actively pursued what Amos 5:24 directs us towards, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Cde Bruce can never be described as a mere politician. He was a disciple of justice, a servant, a man who did not bow to the idols of comfort, privilege or material gain.

From our shared trenches of student and youth politics, from the ranks of UWC SRC, AZASO, CAYCO, SAYCO, the UDF, and the ANC, from our deliberations as the PEC and PWC in the Western Cape, from the chambers of Parliament to the corridors of Municipal Governance, Cde Bruce gave ALL. Not some, not half, but ALL!

He understood the weight of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), not as a slogan, but as a sacred duty. For Cde Bruce, the Struggle was a covenant, a holy calling to bring forth and build a better world - a world of justice, equality, freedom, love, compassion and shared prosperity.

His was not the politics of expediency, of opportunism, of self-enrichment and self-interest. He understood, as we all must, that the NDR is not a career-path, but a sacred responsibility. Cde Bruce’s service was not to himself, but to the people. He lived Psalm 82:3, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.”

As stated above, Cde Bruce took the high and difficult road, the one less travelled, the one that demands revolutionary and political consciousness, sacrifice, integrity, ethics, principles, values and revolutionary morality. When others faltered, he remained true.

Cde Bruce takes his place alongside the giants who came before him, those who gave their lives for the cause, those who refused to bend, refused to break, refused to sell their souls.

He has run his race, and he has run it well. And though his flesh has fallen, his spirit walks among us still, whispering to the weary, stirring the complacent, reminding us that work remains and that the revolution is not yet complete.

Let the righteous stand in his memory. Let the cowards tremble at his legacy. For he has returned to the great cloud of witnesses, to the eternal embrace of God Almighty who called him to this work.

Hamba kahle, Cde Bruce!

Yours was a life well lived, a struggle well fought, and a legacy well secured.

Your hands are clean, your conscience clear, your journey complete!

* Shaun Byneveldt is South African ambassador to the State of Palestine.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.