Hon Speaker, the DA extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and comrades of uTata Diale. The family has been in our thoughts and prayers and we will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
UTata Nelson was born on 1 January 1936, at Ga-Masemola in Limpopo where he spent most of his childhood years. He attended school in Sekobetlane Maphutha. In 1952 he left the village for Pretoria in search of employment.
Immediately after stepping off the train, the police arrested him; his crime was that he was not in possession of the hated dompas. The police beat him brutally and he was imprisoned. This was the beginning of a similar brutal treatment that he was to suffer at the hands of the police for most of his life.
He then found work in a hotel as a waiter. He did not enjoy working there as he was harassed by his employer. In 1956, uTata Nelson joined the ANC where he was taught basic political skills. In 1958, he also joined the Domestic Workers Union affiliated to the SA Congress of Trade Unions, Sactu - a workers' movement aligned to the ANC. He was active in the ANC until it was banned in 1960.
In 1960, when the ANC was banned, uTata Nelson was among the first comrades to be recruited to its military wing uMkhonto weSizwe, but he chose to remain inside the country and undergo the training internally.
In January 1964, his unit was arrested and he was tortured and beaten for three months. uTata Nelson was sent to Robben Island where he served an eight-year sentence. It was here that he met political prisoners including President Jacob Zuma.
After his release in 1972, he was banned from organising activities in the community. He then began working underground for the ANC. In 1975, uTata Nelson linked up with the ANC's underground network. He was involved in a clash with the police where two constables were injured.
The entire, then Northern Transvaal, underground network was rounded up and others were sentenced to long prison terms while some, like uTata Nelson, were acquitted and served with internal banning orders.
uTata Nelson later worked with Dr Aaron Motsoaledi in establishing the Sekhukhune Advice Office, a centre which was dedicated to helping activists, victims and their relatives financially and logistically.
After the April 1994 democratic elections, uTata Nelson was elected as a Member of Parliament, MP, representing the ANC. In Parliament he served as a committee member on Portfolio Committees on Defence, Safety and Security and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.
On 27 April 2011, President Jacob Zuma honoured uTata Nelson with the Order of Luthuli in Silver for his selfless contributions and sacrifices to the cause of freedom in this country.
uTata Nelson died on 8 January 2015, in Limpopo province. He died on the weekend as the political party, the ANC, marked their 103 years' anniversary in Cape Town.
He was buried on 18 January 2015, in Sekhukhune village in Limpopo province as one of the most respected anti-apartheid struggle veterans and a former ANC Member of Parliament for 20 years.
Singulo mbutho we-DA siyaphinda sithi wanga umphefumlo wakhe ungalala ngoxolo. [Again as the DA we say, may his soul rest in peace.]
May his soul rest in peace! Thank you, Speaker. [Applause.]