• Struggle stalwart John Nkadimeng will be buried in a special official funeral.
• Nkadimeng died on Thursday.
• Due to lockdown regulations attendance will be restricted, but the service will be broadcast, including on social media.

Struggle hero Isithwalandwe/Seaparankwe John Nkadimeng will be laid to rest on Friday.

On Monday, government released the details of the arrangements for Nkadimeng's funeral service and burial.

Nkadimeng, who turned 93 in June, died on Thursday.

"President Ramaphosa has declared a Special Official Funeral: Category 1 in honour of Mr Nkadimeng which entails military honours. The President has directed that the National Flag be flown at half-mast at all flag stations until the evening of 14 August 2020," read a statement from the Government Communication and Information System.

The funeral service will be held on Friday at the Marks Park Sports Club in Emmarentia, Randburg, starting at 10:00. The burial will take place on the same day at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.

Members of the public who want to send messages of condolence to Nkadimeng's family can do so on an online tribute page, as well as an email address.

Due to the lockdown regulations, only 50 people will be allowed to attend the funeral.

However, the funeral service will be broadcast live on the SABC and other major broadcast channels. Arrangements have been made for both services to be streamed live on government's online platforms. 

Isithwalandwe/Seaparankwe is the country's highest honour awarded to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the liberation struggle.

Nkadimeng was instrumental in the founding of trade union federation Cosatu.

Nkadimeng became general secretary of the then underground South African Congress of Trade Unions (Sactu) in 1983 and remained committed to the trade union movement.

As the leader of Sactu, Nkadimeng worked tirelessly for the ideal of worker unity in a single national federation.

He was detained during the Defiance Campaign in 1952 and was one of the 156 congress activists charged with treason in the 1956 Treason Trial.

- Compiled by Jan Gerber

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