Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has described the Gallows Museum at Pretoria Central Correctional Centre as a place where the political prisoners who were hanged there can be honoured and the past can be buried.
At least 4000 prisoners were hanged at the gallows - of those 134 were political prisoners - until the Constitutional Court voted unanimously for the abolishment of the death penalty in June 1996.
The gallows and cells used for executing those given the death penalty were destroyed.
"The dismantling of the gallows here at C Max Correctional Centre, Pretoria, in 1996 robbed people of an opportunity to know and understand the painful history of the executions that were carried out by the apartheid state. Today, in this historic ceremony, we are reopening the restored gallows which are now a museum," explained Zuma.
"On this day we also acknowledge the pain of families whose loved ones were victims of the actions of some of the political prisoners we are remembering today. In any war there are casualties. Today we remember all of them to, as we know that it cuts both ways."
He said the 134 men were branded terrorists or trouble makers to the authorities then, but to their people and families, they were freedom fighters who wanted to see a free, democratic and non-sexist South Africa. They were people who had their own unique personalities and contributions.
He made mention of the first people to be executed for political reasons on 5 September 1961 - Thompson Chamane, Joe Mlangeni Khuzwayo, Maqadini Lushozi, Mahemu Goqo, Brian Ganozi Mgumbungu, Schoolboy Mthembu and Payiyana Dladla, as well as those executed following a clash that erupted in the Cator Manor Township, outside Durban, in January 1960, during the beerhall riots.
The last person to be hanged was Jeffrey Boesman Mangena on 29 September 1989. "At that late hour, when the apartheid state was almost on its knees, executions were still being carried out."
The first MK cadres to be hanged for MK operations included Vuyisile Mini, Zinakile Mkaba and Wilson Khayingo who were executed on 6 November 1964 and Nolali Mpentse, Daniel Ndongeni and Samuel Jonas who followed them to the gallows on 23 February 1965.
During the late 70s and 80s the state executed young freedom fighters Solomon Mahlangu and Andrew Zondo and others.
Zuma, who visited the gallows and walked up the "52 steps" leading to the room, unveiled a dedicated wall in the gallows with individual plaques for each of the political prisoners executed there.
"Today, all 134 names are officially being enshrined for eternity so that future generations will know what this country went through, so that we never go through a similar horror ever again.
"We also spare a thought for people who had been sentenced to death when freedom dawned. They have experienced the pain of waiting to be called to walk the 52 steps to the gallows. They live with the trauma and pain of a life that was nearly lost," he said,
He made special mention of the prison warders who worked on death row, saying many were recruited to work the prison at ages 15 and 16.
"As part of our long path to healing, and in the understanding that we need to walk that path together, government is assisting these officers and others who worked at the gallows, to come to terms with what exactly happened here at the then Pretoria Central Prison.
"They may have been brainwashed into believing that the death row prisoners deserved to die. Or they were just clinically doing their jobs and had shut down the emotions involved with the official duty of executing people or looking after people who were waiting to be executed. Either way, they need healing too."
He was happy to find out that some of them were still employed at the prison and were willing to share their stories and contribute to the healing process.
"All South Africans suffered for this freedom. Lives were lost and many families went through untold pain and suffering. We therefore open this museum as a place of healing. We are opening it so that future generations can learn how things can go wrong if we lose our common humanness and shared nationhood, when we lose that sense of respecting each other as human beings.
"This museum must be a symbol, not of the past, but of the hope we have for our future. Together with other monuments, such as the Robben Island, the Nelson Mandela, and the Apartheid Museums, this place will forever be embedded in our history and heritage," said the President.
He added that on such a special and emotional day that challenges the sense of forgiveness and healing, once should remember the last words of Solomon Mahlangu. "Let his blood and that of all the patriots who fell here, inspire us to build a better South Africa that upholds human dignity and the right to life."
Yesterday, the families and friends of those who were executed had the opportunity to mourn the death of their loved ones by visiting the prison's where they performed traditional cleansing ceremonies.
For many of them, it was the first time they had visited the gallows and it was an emotional event.
They were then taken to two cemeteries in Pretoria - Mamelodi and Rebecca Street - to pay their last respects where officials of the National Prosecution Authority's Missing Persons Task Team were on hand to assist in locating the graves of their loved ones.
Religious and traditional leaders as well as counsellors and therapists were present to help families cope with pain and trauma.
The President extended his gratitude to the families. "We can never really feel the pain as deeply as you do. We hope this occasion contributes to the healing process and closure. May the spirits of your loved ones now rest in peace, for you have walked the steps that they walked on their last journey," he said.
The Gallows Museum will be open to the public next year.
