ONE of the founding members of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Wilbrod Mboneni ”Mbeya” Molefe died at Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg on Friday after suffering a stroke. When Molefe was 18, he was a pioneer of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress. Molefe left the country for military training in 1963 and underwent military training in Odessa in the former Soviet Union. Molefe was redeployed to Kongwa Camp in Tanzania and other places, including Zambia where in the 1980s he was elected as chairman of the ANC Regional Political Committee. After the unbanning of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe, Molefe worked for the ANC in the then Southern Natal Region. He specialised in the difficult task of integrating MK soldiers and ANC exiles into communities. He also assisted in the process of integrating MK soldiers into the SA National Defence Force. He himself integrated into the SANDF with a rank of Warrant Officer First Class. He was later demobilised and became one of the senior officials of the MK Veterans Association. – Sapa