ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane paid tribute to anti-apartheid activist and Cope co-founder Mosiuoa 'Terror' Lekota at a memorial service in Soweto.

• ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane hinted at talks with Cope leaders to reintegrate them into the ANC.
• Mokonyane emphasised unity and renewal during a memorial for Cope co-founder Mosiuoa Lekota in Soweto.
• Lekota, a former ANC chairperson, died at 77; his funeral will be on Saturday in Bloemfontein.

ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane has not ruled out the possibility of getting into talks with Cope leaders to try and bring them back into the fold.

Mokonyane was speaking to News24 on the sidelines of the memorial service of Cope co-founder Mosiuoa Lekota in Soweto on Wednesday.

Mokonyane said getting Cope supporters, voters, members and others who had opted out of the ANC and the democratic process to return was part of why the ANC had attended the memorial.

“The ANC must talk to everyone, and that’s why we are here, because we understand we have a burden of leadership. We have to continue embracing everybody in our diversity because the ANC is not an organisation that is exclusive to others.

“It’s an organisation that must forever renew, and renewal also includes bringing others who must come and appreciate why we find ourselves here rather than them assuming that the ANC has sold out,” Mokonyane said.

READ | Lekota remembered: From UDF organiser to Cope founder and SA icon

During her speech, in which she reminisced about her past working closely with Lekota on the ANC’s election campaigns, Mokonyane called for unity.

Mokonyane said while Cope leaders could argue that Lekota was one of them, he, however, remains a large part of the ANC.

“As we head to his funeral, may the death of comrade Terror unite us,” she said.

Asked to elaborate on her statement and if she believed the ANC should actively convince Cope supporters to return to the party, Mokonyane said:

Lekota, who was also a former minister of defence and the first premier of the Free State, died last week following a prolonged illness. He was 77.

He was also a former chairperson of the ANC before leaving the party to form his own political outfit, Cope. This was after the ANC conference in Polokwane which elected former president Jacob Zuma as president. Lekota’s funeral takes place in Bloemfontein on Saturday.