The BDS movement joins our comrades in South Africa in mourning Comrade Mokoena Letsie, a respected grassroots leader, community organiser, tireless defender of the rights of informal settlement residents in Potchefstroom, and prominent Palestine solidarity and BDS activist. We condemn those who ordered and those who executed his assassination and join the many South Africans calling for justice and serious accountability.
Through his work with the Solidarity Action Committee Collective and Potch 4 Palestine, a member organisation of the South African BDS Coalition, Comrade Mokoena dedicated his life to advancing the struggles of working-class communities for dignity, housing, land, and justice as well as the struggle for Palestinian liberation. Widely respected for his principled leadership and unwavering commitment to the poor and marginalised, he became a powerful voice for communities too often ignored.
Solidarity with Palestine was at the heart of his intersectional political commitments. He worked tirelessly to build support for Palestinian liberation among informal settlement communities, understanding that the struggle against dispossession and economic oppression in South Africa is deeply connected to the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice, and self-determination. His message that the struggle for justice knows no borders, and that we share a common humanity is today more important than ever.
We extend our deepest condolences to Comrade Mokoena's family, loved ones, comrades, and the many communities whose lives he touched. We stand in solidarity with the members of the Solidarity Action Committee Collective, Potch 4 Palestine, and all those mourning him and holding on to his inspiring principles. At this difficult moment, we honour his life, his contributions, and the powerful legacy he leaves behind.
The assassination of a community leader is not only an attack on an individual; it is an attack on the democratic rights of entire communities to organise, speak out, and fight for justice. More than a month after Comrade Mokoena's killing, no arrests have been made. Those responsible for planning, ordering, and carrying out this crime must be identified and held accountable. We therefore support the memorandum submitted by the Solidarity Action Committee Collective and join their call for a transparent, credible, and expedited investigation, regular public updates, and decisive action to ensure that justice is served.
The best tribute we can pay to Comrade Mokoena Letsie is to continue the struggles to which he devoted his life. His legacy lives on in the movements he helped build, the communities he helped organise, and every act of solidarity that bridges borders and unites people in the pursuit of freedom and justice — from Potchefstroom to Palestine. Comrade Mokoena may be physically gone, but the values he stood for and the struggles he helped advance will endure. May he rest in power.