Benson Tsele died on 21 March 1968 in combat against the then white supremacist Rhodesian army.

The Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) guerrilla was part of the Luthuli Detachment, an elite group that had undergone years of military, political and physical training to return to South Africa, train recruits and help revive the underground structures of the African National Congress (ANC).