Duma Lamani paid price of activism
I RECEIVED the news of Duma Lamani’s passing with devastation and sadness.
From a tender age, Lamani showed a willingness to give his life to the struggle for the freedom of our people.
In the dark and dangerous years of the oppressive apartheid regime’s reign, from the comfort of a successful business family, he joined the call to risk life and limb to join his peers in the struggle with no expectation of material gain. Like many, he paid the price. As the student leadership of the time, in 1977 we were detained without trial.
We were subjected to the most ruthless and brutal torture and abuse. We were angry and determined.
His fearlessness and bravery was an inspiration to those of us who were detained with him.
We were inspired by the solidarity of our fellow pupils who protested our detention.
Vividly I remember an abusive white police officer, who lost no opportunity to try to humiliate us and break our morale in the detention cells, suffer the wrath of Lamani’s quick strike.
The officer was bringing our breakfast of unappetising bread and hot black coffee. Skhomo, as we affectionately called him, grabbed the big bowl of coffee and poured it on the officer’s face to a loud scream and cry.
As you would expect, all hell broke loose as the police baton-charged us and beat us up thoroughly.
Importantly though, they knew to leave us alone and treat us with respect.
Lamani knew that every space was a sight of struggle, whether it be the typical jail where we were locked up several times or the wider society where a black person remained a prisoner of white domination.
I remember the treasured moments we shared together listening to Radio Freedom, the voice of the ANC with a very difficult transmission as the enemy tried to block it.
The encouragement and advice from leaders that we only knew from stories told gave us tremendous strength.
So too was the readiness of the many who had served their time on Robben Island and the black consciousness adherents.
These were our formative years in the struggle.
Not surprisingly, we felt the urge to leave and take up arms against the regime.
With many of our comrades having left the country, following the brutal murder of Steve Biko and soon after our release from detention, it was left to us, with the strong urging from the movement, not to leave and to continue to provide leadership to the pupils.
Lamani showed tremendous leadership and courage in directing a divided pupil body, and ensure an orderly and disciplined return to school, thereby allowing us to fight another day.
No sooner had we been released from detention in 1977 than the enemy continued with efforts to throw us back in.
We went underground in Sterkspruit in the Anglican Mission House, hosted by a young cleric, Rev Mongezi Guma.
That saw us make our first contact with the ANC’s external mission based in Lesotho that was led by Chris Hani.
Aware of this and in a move intended to destabilise the PESRC in 1978, Lamani and I were detained in King William’s Town Prison for more than eight months without trial. The early part of that detention was in Port Elizabeth when his father was also rounded up and incarcerated for a few days, during which he was humiliated and intimidated.
If he could speak today, Lamani would pay tribute to another of our unsung heroes, Lungile Tabalaza, who was brutally murdered by apartheid’s security police at the Sanlam building, all because he steadfastly and scrupulously refused to give them a fabricated story that would have been used to send Lamani and I to jail for a long time.
These were the days when activists knew that selling out was not an option. Lamani never ran away in the face of trouble, and was always calculating and strategic.
During our stay in that prison, in our neighbouring single cells were dangerous criminals who managed a daring escape.
When they tried to take us along, Lamani strongly urged me against it, even though after months of detention the prospect of freedom was quite enticing.
I could say much more about a man whose life may have had many lows, but no doubt even more rich chapters that some would rather have buried and forgotten.
In my book, Lamani is one of the many unsung heroes that our extravagant liberation movement is happy to have forgotten.
Many chapters of his gallant journey of struggle for freedom not only do not feature in the Apartheid Museum, but also not even in the local Red Location Museum.
And yet, his contribution will remain indelibly marked in the memory of those among us who journeyed with him
No one should be surprised that he died on a mission of an organisation he loved, honoured and loyally served for many years of his life.
I’m very proud of the few years that I had the blessing to walk part of that journey with him
Sipho Pityana, Port Elizabeth