South African Communist Party

SACP message of heartfelt condolences to family of South African liberation stalwart Comrade Sunny Singh

Saturday, 29 November 2025: - The South African Communist Party (SACP) conveys its message of heartfelt condolences to the family of South African liberation stalwart, Comrade Sunny Girja Singh (86), who served the freedom-loving people of our country selflessly and diligently throughout his revolutionary life.

The SACP also expresses its condolences to the African National Congress (ANC), the uMkhonto we Sizwe Liberation War Veterans, the entire liberation movement and the people of South Africa for the loss.

From an early age, Comrade Singh became conscious of the atrocities of the apartheid system and took the decision to actively participate in the struggle against the racist system by joining the Natal Indian Congress at the age of 20. Thereafter, in 1962, Comrade Singh joined the joint SACP-ANC military wing, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), following its launch in December 1961.

Following his dedicated revolutionary work, Comrade Singh was arrested, and at the age of 25 in 1963 was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, which he served on Robben Island, where the apartheid regime isolated him and his fellow comrades, where they endured harsh conditions. Notwithstanding these hardships, Comrade Singh never swayed from the struggle for justice.

Following his release after serving his entire prison term, the apartheid regime forced Comrade Singh to exile in 1976. He took exile as a continuation of the struggle, despite facing practical challenges. He trained in guerilla warfare, serving in various leadership roles in the MK in various parts of the African continent, including Mozambique, Angola, and Zambia, and was an active member in Operation Vula, one of the various secret projects for the anti- apartheid liberation struggle.

An internationalist par excellence, Comrade Singh made sterling contributions in opening the first official ANC mission in the Netherlands and represented the ANC at important international forums.

Neither the 10 years spent imprisoned in Robben Island nor the tough life in exile broke his revolutionary spirit. Instead, he got stronger both in ideological analysis and revolutionary zeal and consequently was able to contribute meaningfully towards the dislodging of the apartheid regime and ushering in a free and democratic South Africa. Passionate about political education, upon his return to South Africa in 1991, he contributed to the education of the youth, laying an important base towards Codesa talks which would later influence the shape of the new constitution.

In paying tribute to Comrade Singh, the SACP calls upon the working class and all justice loving people of our country to unite and close ranks against imperialism, defend South Africa’s national sovereignty and right to self-determination. The SACP makes the further call for the reinvigoration of regular political education in our progressive forces to empower the masses of our country on revolutionary class consciousness in order to drive the national democratic revolution towards its logical conclusion.

Hamba Kahle Mkhonto!

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ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA