Johannesburg – Anti-apartheid struggle hero and African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Ambassador Billy Masetlha has been accorded a Provincial Official Funeral.
Masetlha passed away on Sunday, (14 May 2023), after a long illness aged 68.
Related: Ambassador Billy Masetlha Has Passed Away After Long Illness – The Bulrushes
The Gauteng Government on Friday announced that “President Cyril Ramaphosa has designated the funeral of Mr. Billy Masetlha as a Special Provincial Official Funeral”.
The designation of the funeral follows a request from Premier Panyaza Lesufi to the President.
Masetlha was the founding member of the Congress of South African Students and played an instrumental role in other political organisations such as the Azanian Students Organisation and the Soweto Students Representatives Council.
Masetlha became involved in the struggle to attain democracy at a very young age.
In 1976 he joined the military arm of the ANC – uMkhonto we Sizwe.
Masetlha also served as the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency.
He also served in various diplomatic positions, at the time of his passing, he was South Africa’s Ambassador to Algeria and Western Sahara.
“Mr. Masetlha will be remembered for his commitment to the emancipation of all South Africans. He was a freedom fighter who resented inequality, injustice, and racism,” said Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has instructed that the national flag fly at half-mast in Gauteng on the day of Masetlha’s funeral as a sign of respect to him.
The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, 20 May 2023, at 08:00.
The venue is the Bryanston Methodist Church, 115/117 Grosvenor Road, Bryanston in Johannesburg.
