By Sello Hatang:
Some generations inherit freedom. Others choose to become its architects.
This week, we honour the memory of Ntate Govan Mbeki and Ashley Kriel, two men from different generations whose lives converged around a single conviction: that freedom was never meant to be a slogan, but a responsibility. They believed that liberation demanded sacrifice, courage and an unwavering commitment to those whose voices were too often ignored.
They understood that no nation can truly call itself free while the poor, the landless and the forgotten remain behind.
Their lives ask each of us a question that cannot be outsourced to politicians, governments or activists alone: What unfinished freedom has been entrusted to us?
South Africa has travelled a remarkable journey.
We enjoy freedoms that previous generations could scarcely imagine. We vote. We speak freely. We worship according to our conscience. We dream without laws telling us where we may live, work or learn. Those freedoms came at a tremendous cost, paid for by ordinary men and women who believed that future generations deserved better than they had known.
But freedom is never a destination. It is a living promise that each generation must renew.
The generation of Govan Mbeki declared, “Freedom in our lifetime.” Our generation must declare, “Dignity in our lifetime.” For too many South Africans, political freedom has not yet become economic freedom. Democracy has not yet become opportunity. Hope has not yet become reality.
We still long for freedom from want. Freedom from racism. Freedom from crime. Freedom from corruption. Freedom from unemployment. Freedom from hunger. Freedom from gender-based violence. Freedom from addiction. Freedom from poor education. Freedom from failing public services. Freedom from fear.
These are not separate struggles. They are chapters of the same unfinished story. Every child who studies in a broken school, every family trapped in poverty, every young graduate searching endlessly for work, every victim who lives behind burglar bars while criminals roam freely reminds us that freedom must continue to grow if it is to remain meaningful.
The temptation is to believe that someone else will finish the work. History teaches us otherwise. Every generation inherits unfinished business. The generation before us dismantled apartheid. Our task is to dismantle everything that continues to deny people their dignity.
That work belongs to teachers who shape young minds, police officers who serve with integrity, business leaders who create opportunities, parents who raise ethical children, public servants who refuse corruption, faith leaders who speak truth with compassion, and ordinary citizens who choose kindness over cynicism.
Freedom survives not only because heroes once fought for it, but because ordinary people continue to protect it every day.
Perhaps the greatest tribute we can pay to Govan Mbeki, Ashley Kriel, and many others is not merely remembering their names, but continuing their work. They did not sacrifice so that we would simply commemorate the past. They sacrificed so that we would build a future worthy of that sacrifice.
The measure of our generation will not be how often we sing liberation songs or quote freedom fighters. It will be whether we leave behind a South Africa where fewer children go hungry, where more young people find meaningful work, where corruption no longer steals from the poor, where justice is trusted, where communities are safe, and where every person feels that they truly belong.
History remembers those who demanded freedom. The future will remember those who deepened it.
May we become the generation that ensures freedom is not only remembered in speeches, but experienced in every home, every school, every village, every township and every city.
Freedom within our lifetime must now mean freedom for everyone.
Be part of the movement.
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