Mr Speaker, hon members, I stand before this House on behalf of the IFP and its president, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, to offer solemn words of sympathy to the dear family and friends of the late struggle veteran, Mr Fazzie, and to the community of the ANC for this loss.
I will not talk about Mr Fazzie's magnanimous and heroic deeds in the struggle for the liberation of our people from oppression. There are hon members in this House who can talk about that with penetrating eloquence and emotions befitting the occasion. I will not give an account of the courageous sacrifices he made, alongside many others, for us to enjoy these freedoms and liberties. There are those among his close comrades who can give such testimony with unequivocal authority.
However, when I silently reminisce about my early stay here in the city, particularly in Pelican Park, the parliamentary village, I think of the warm acquaintances I had with the late Henry Makgothi, the late Wilton Mkwayi and, now, with the late Henry Fazzie himself. Therefore words of comfort to us all must come from Spinoza's brief exhortation on or consideration of the Ethics of Death. He says:
The universe is stronger than we are. Nature is stronger than we are. This is why we die. To live is to struggle, resist, survive, and no one can do this indefinitely. In the end, we must die, and this is the only end that we can be certain of. To think about death constantly would be to think too much about it. But never to think about it would be to give up thinking. Besides, no one is completely free; no one is supremely wise. This leaves thoughts of death to happy days or gruelling nights, which we must accept.
May the soul of Mr Henry Fazzie rest in peace and may the good Lord comfort those left behind.