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Sitelega’s wife shares stage with Malema at Marikana

20/08/2013 02:28:00 BY WELCOME DLAMINI

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Sitelega’s wife Betty Gadlela.

MBABANE – As thousands commemorated the Marikana massacre in South Africa last week Friday, among them was Swazi widow Betty Gadlela whose husband, Sitelega, was one of the 34 miners who were killed by the police.

Betty shared the stage with former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, the current leader of the new Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
She addressed the gathering on behalf of the other widows.
“Before the event, we held a meeting as widows and in that meeting I told the other women that I would like to address the gathering because there was something that has been bothering me regarding my husband’s death. The other women then felt I would also speak on their behalf. I told them that what I wanted to say was personal but they insisted that I should also speak for them.” Betty said.

The first anniversary of the mass killings was held at the koppie – a rocky outcrop near the Marikana mine where police opened fire on protesting miners who were demanding a monthly salary of E12 500.
An emotional Betty, in an interview yesterday, said being at the koppie was not a great experience for her because it is at this place where she lost her husband and family breadwinner.

She left Swaziland for South Africa on Thursday and returned on Sunday morning.
“When I was at that mountain, I felt pain and relived the day that my husband died. I really do not like to talk about this thing,” she said.
Betty made it known that she was not comfortable being interviewed through the phone lest she be misquoted.
“Every time someone interviews me on the phone, I then see newspapers carrying something different from what I said. That is why I prefer a face-to-face interview.”

She also cited the ongoing Marikana commission of enquiry as another reason she avoided speaking to the media.
The commission resumed yesterday and Betty said she was waiting for a call from lawyers representing the deceased miners on when to go to South Africa.
“We were told that all of us widows should be present during the commission because we have to be interviewed.”
Continuing, she said: “As widows of the miners who died, we have been warned not to talk to the media because the commission is still in progress.”

However, Betty made it known that the fate of her family lay on the hands of the Marikana mine management.
“As I speak, I do not have a proper house. Gadlela supported us as a family but now we have no one. My fate now lies with Lonmin. Someone needs to take up Gadlela’s place at the mine so as to be able to feed the family,” she said.

South African weekly publi-cation, the Mail and Guardian M&G, last week Friday carried an in-depth interview of Betty and in it she revealed what her wishes were in terms of her husband’s place at the mine.
“As she has no grown children, Betty is prepared to take her husband’s place at the mine if Lonmin finally allows families to replace their deceased. She is “looking very hard for a job” and says she will move her offspring out of the crumbling house to wherever she finds one,” the publication wrote.
According to her, the interview with M&G, took place in June and was told that it was for purposes of publishing a book detailing the massacre and the effects it has had on the dead miners’ families.
In the interview, she made startling revelations about life when her husband was still alive.

These included that Sitelega was erratic in sending money home and when he did it was between E500 and E600 a month. She also revealed that she discovered her husband had a concubine and four other children in South Africa.

When the Times asked her on these revelations, Betty said she did not want to speak badly about her deceased husband because this might bring shame upon his name. This is the same statement she gave to the M&G newspaper, hence her interview was headlined ‘I don’t speak ill of the dead’.