Vejaynand Ramlakan

Lieutenant General Vejaynand Indurjith Ramlakan (September 28, 1957 – August 27, 2020) was a South African military commander. A medical doctor, he served in Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress, during the liberation struggle against the South African government in the 1980s, and transferred to the South African National Defence Force when MK was incorporated into it in 1994.

Early life

Popularly known as 'Vejay', he was born in Durban in 1957. He started schooling in Durban and matriculated at Naidoo Memorial High in Umkomaas in 1974. He obtained his basic medical degrees from the University of Natal in 1980.

Career

He first joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) as an underground operative in Natal in 1977. During this period, he underwent general military training in South Africa and in Swaziland. At the University of Natal, General Ramlakan served as the President of the Medical Students Representative Council from 1979 to 1980.

From 1981 until 1983, he was Vice President and General Secretary of the Natal Health Worker’s Association, and also a founding member of the United Democratic Front (UDF). As part of the command structures of MK in the then province of Natal, Lt. Gen. Ramlakan was involved in MK Operation BUTTERFLY. He also held office as a member of the first APMC inside South Africa. GOC Area Military Health Formation from Feb 2000 until Nov 2000; and took over the post on 1 April 2013.

Following the release of the Nkandla report, newspapers speculated that he was due to go on early retirement in 2014. However, he retired quietly in May 2015.

Death

Ramlakan died of natural causes on 27 August 2020 in a Johannesburg hospital.

Awards and decorations

He received the following decorations: