On Saturday night news of the death of deputy presidential spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa spread like wildfire and stoked up fierce memories of what he had come to represent in and out of government circles.

No number of platitudes will bring comfort to his family, who were beginning to enjoy being with him after all the time he poured into the liberation struggle. Mamoepa is a monument to sacrifice and excellence. After the ANC came into power there was no blueprint about how a liberation movement should communicate its message of revolution and electoral support to drum up support ahead of the 1994 elections. Similarly, the ANC had a major propaganda war on its hands: to change the perception painted by the apartheid machinery of a terrorist organisation to that of a political party that was ready to govern.I don’t remember a more robust ANC spokesman since the 1994 period. Mamoepa was more than a mere conveyor belt of information, he was the very crucible where progressive messages were crafted for the new revolutionary course facing a movement that had, until then, only known how to be underground. Naturally, he became a point of reference for all other spokespersons of the ANC tryi...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.