While Solomon Mahlangu was executed in 1979, South African youth activists in exile established June 13, 1980, as a commemorative event in Lusaka, Zambia, honoring his sacrifice. Mahlangu was a soldier in Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), executed by apartheid South Africa at age 23. His last words—“Tell my people that I love them and that they must continue the fight”—echoed throughout liberation camps. The June 13 event became an annual rallying point for mobilizing young South Africans abroad and strengthening Pan-African solidarity. Mahlangu remains a symbol of youth resistance against state violence.
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