The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape is mourning the passing of well-known community activist Mario “Gatto” Wanza.
He died on Wednesday at the age of 59.
Wanza founded the NGO, Proudly Manenberg in 2005, in an effort to uplift especially the youth in the gang-plagued suburb on the Cape Flats.
Provincial Party Spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni says Wanza stood firm for a non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and democratic society.
Mtsweni says, “He also served as a shop steward for SACTWU (Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union). He spent his working days at Proudly Manenberg as well as Manenberg People’s Centre.”
Mtsweni has described him as a champion of human rights.
“He spent his lifetime as an activist who empowered his community and surroundings to be their own liberators. He was a forthright and uncompromising champion of human rights and he was a leader who stood firm for a non racial, non sexist, prosperous and democratic society. He will be remembered as an ardent cultural activist whom, even during the moments of illness, continued to take on the system that has sought to be unfair to the poor and fought for access for marginalised communities to receive services which they deserved,” says Mtsweni.
