The Congress of the People (COPE) has described the death of its leader Mosiuoa Lekota as a huge loss to the party. Lekota died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a hospital in Midrand at the age of 77. confirm that it received the news early this morning of the passing away of Comrade Terror. The party says he has been ill for quite a while, and he has been in and out of the hospital until this time that this has happened. Lekota had stepped back from active politics last year to focus on his health, prompting the appointment of a COPE interim leader. A former high-ranking African National Congress (ANC) member, he served as the first Free State Premier from 1994 to 1996 and as defense minister from 1999 to 2008.