- The environmental justice movement is reeling since hearing of the untimely passing of Comrade Samson Mokoena; a fierce fighter for the right to breathe clean air, he died on Friday 28 June 2024 due to pneumonia.
- Samson was born on 2 August 1976 in Vanderbijlpark, on the fence lines of South Africa’s most culpable polluting industries that continue to wreak inter-generational havoc on the health and lives of people living in the Vaal.
- Over the decades of struggle in the Vaal and beyond, Samson often voiced the impact of polluting industries on his community, his family and his own health.
We heard in a voice note from his sister, Aletta Mokoena, that it started with tonsillitis on Tuesday last week. It worsened, so he went to the local clinic and was provided with medication. He became weaker, and on Friday morning, his mother and neighbour drove him to the doctor who put him on a drip and treated him for pneumonia. It was too late though, he passed away soon after the first drip was administered.
Samson’s work and life has been a source of immense inspiration, a galvanising force in building people power to challenge environmental and human rights abuses. He worked for decades to highlight the pollution caused by companies like ArcelorMittal and Sasol, in Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg and surrounding areas.
Arcelor Mittal’s Vanderbijlpark Plant. The company is one of the top 10 GHG emitters in South Africa, emitting more CO2 per year than the entire population of the City of Cape Town, and facing a criminal prosecution for violation of its air emission licence. Image credit: Robert Tshabalala
He also took on the state over their failure to respect, protect and promote environmental and human rights. His leadership of the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance has been part of his legacy of change making and mentorship, leaving an indelible impact on those he worked with. He did all this with a sense of humour, injecting a courageous energy into any space he found himself in.
“As a struggle stalwart and grassroots activist he dedicated his life and every breath to fighting for clean air and clean water for his community. His vast legacy remains, as people are inspired by his journey of speaking truth to power, and being a true comrade, standing in solidarity with those most affected by one of the most dangerously polluted areas in the world, the Vaal Triangle,” said Avena Jacklin, Operations Director at groundWork.
Samson co-founded the South African Water Caucus (SAWC) and served as the coordinator of the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA). Over the 25-plus years of struggle, his passion and focus evolved into locally, nationally, regionally and internationally connected solidarity networks, and many friendships. Below are some of the messages of tribute from colleagues and comrades who walked part of this journey by his side.
“I still can’t believe that Samson is gone. That I will never again – except in photos and films – see his face, at once intense and friendly, hear his strong voice and feel his warm, comradely hug. We have been comrades in the struggle for environmental justice, in particular against water and air pollution, for 23 years now. He was not only a friend and comrade, but an important leader in the struggle for environmental justice in South Africa, Africa and the world. The last time I worked with Samson was in a research project to support VEJA’s involvement in a global green steel movement which was pressuring ArcelorMittal to make the same investments in their South African and other global South countries’ steel mills as they were putting into their European operations. It was part of a decarbonisation push. The research revisited 25 years of VEJA existence and work. Samson was with us in the room, but he was often interrupted, having to visit the doctor or go to the hospital. The years of pollution, struggle and stress were beginning to take their toll on him.”
Source: Centre for Environmental Rights
