Remembering Chiba: Devotion to the Struggle and MK
LALOO Isu Chiba was born on November 5, 1930 in Johannesburg. He grew up in Johannesburg and became politically active after the 1956 Treason Trial.
He joined the Transvaal Indian Congress and the South African Communist Party around 1959, where he served in leadership positions.
In 1961 he joined uMkhonto we Sizwe and was part of the first wave of sabotage attacks that MK executed in the Transvaal area.
His first detention was under the 90 Day Detention law where he was detained alongside Solly Vania, Indres Naidoo and Shirish Nanabhai.
During this spell of detention, Laloo Chiba was so badly tortured that he lost hearing in one of his ears. His resilience was founded on the belief that he should not give the Security Police any information with which to implicate his comrades.
After his release, he continued and intensified his involvement in MK and due to this; he became involved in the so-called “Second High Command” of MK, under the leadership of Wilton Mkwayi.
During July of 1964, Chiba was arrested along with Wilton Mkwayi, David Kitson, John Matthews and Mac Maharaj in what became known as the “Little Rivonia Trial”.
They were charged with over 58 counts including several sabotage charges; furthering the aims of Communism; being members of a banned organisation, etc.
They were sentenced on December 18, 1964 and sent to Leeuwkop Prison. Chiba was given an 18-year prison sentence. He was 34 years old at the time. They were transferred and arrived on Robben Island on January 5, 1965.
He would be transferred from Robben Island on May 6, 1982 and eventually released from prison on December 17, 1982.
During his time on Robben Island Chiba was kept in the B-Section of the prison along with the rest of the leadership of the political organisations.
Mkwayi remembered him in an interview as a person who had a fondness for gardening in the prison and together with Maharaj, used their underground communication skill to smuggle written material from their cultivated gardens in the prison.
Upon his release from prison in 1982, Chiba became involved in the structures of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and he became a Member of Parliament with the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994.
In 2004, Chiba was honoured with the National Order of Luthuli for his bravery and service to South Africa. Fatimah Davids Robben Island Museum