Equal Education is mourning the death of one of the movement’s most loved comrades Simthembile Sitsha. He was known to friends as Simthera. Last night, Friday 30 October 2009, at approximately 7:30pm, Simthera was crossing the street near Chris Hani High School in Makhaza when he was hit by a car. It was a hit and run accident — the car did not stop and Simthera passed away on the street before the ambulance could reach him.Everyone in EE will miss Simthera. He was loved for his warmth and his hard work. He was an athlete and a person who was alive with energy. He was a talented soccer player, and a team player in everything he did.He was very dedicated to Equal Education. He was present at the first Youth Group meeting ever, on 24 April 2008. During 2009 he was a member of the EE Leadership Committee.Simthera attended Youth Group meetings regularly. At the start of 2009 when a new age-group was started for Grades 8 & 9 he mobilised many new members from his school, KwaMfundo.He was a very hard worker in campaigns. He was involved in all of EE’s campaigns including Broken Windows, Latecoming and the Campaign for School Libraries.Simthera was born on 15 April 1991 in King William’s Town. He died on 30 October 2009 in Khayelitsha. He was in Grade 11 at KwaMfundo and he was 18 years old.He will be missed by his family and by his friends and comrades at Equal Education. We will remember him always.
