Moving farewell for struggle stalwart
The man of steel, a communist to the end, a revolutionary
THE struggle stalwart, veteran communist and trade unionist Eric “Stalin” Mtshali, fondly referred to as a “man of steel”, is no more.
Speaking about death, Nelson Mandela perspicuously remarked: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
The death of Mtshali provides not an occasion for mourning but, rather, an opportunity to celebrate a long life, well lived. As Leonardo da Vinci wrote in his notebooks, a “life well used brings happy death”.
Therefore, with the passing of Mtshali I sing, not a dirge, but a paean, knowing that my unwelcome tears are not for him, but for myself.
It might seem unquestionably superfluous to add to the avalanche of glowing tributes of many.
However, in marking his recent death perhaps I may also take this opportunity to add a few memories of this extraordinary and courageous freedom fighter. With his passing, the country, and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, is poorer without him.
It is hard to describe a great man, a good and well-lived life, in a few paragraphs. Any effort would barely skim the surface, not doing justice. It is also equally hard to find the right word to capture the essence of the formidable leader that Mtshali was. I have thought long and hard, and the best word that I could retrieve from my limited vocabulary is humility. It is humility that characterised his political leadership.
He had a raison d’etre and fulfilled the mission of his generation of achieving political liberation and putting in place good foundations for a democratically governed South Africa. This perhaps explains why he shall always have a special place in the hearts and minds of those left behind.
His many friends and colleagues will always remember him with warmth, affection and gratitude.
Mtshali’s passing is a poignant reminder of the fragility of our lives and the opportunity that the same life accords us to leave a lasting legacy that will transcend our sojourn in this world.
We will remember Mtshali for a consistent demonstration of his unique brilliance in many ways. He was as skilled and adept at connecting facts, figures and ideas as he was at connecting people. His mind was always churning, weaving and spinning arguments and strategies with evidence-based facts, figures and ideas.
We are grateful to Mtshali for his many contributions to the betterment of the lives of his fellow citizens. Indeed, in sharing our cherished recollections of him, we assuage our sense of loss.
Mtshali joined the SACP in 1957 and helped form uMkhonto weSizwe. He was also the first editor of The Dawn magazine – the military mouthpiece of the SACP. He spent more than 30 years in exile and represented the South African Congress of Trade Unions at the World Federation of Trade Unions in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
From 1965 to 1969 he worked closely with Chris Hani, helped form the ANC’s intelligence division and was involved in several intelligence operations. During one of the operations, he led a group of 12 MK and Zimbabwe African People’s Union cadres to rescue a section of the Luthuli detachment that had been surrounded by Rhodesian forces.
He also worked with leaders like Moses Mabhida, Moses Kotane and Harry Gwala, to name but a few. It was therefore not surprising when he was deservedly honoured by being awarded the prestigious Order of Mendi for Bravery in silver. He was also the recipient of the SACP Moses Kotane Award.
His passing is a great loss, an occasion of great sadness for those he helped, supported, encouraged, consoled, uplifted and befriended. To his family and close friends, Mtshali was the big, comfy shoulder they found when they needed to cry.
To his political home, the SACP and the tripartite alliance, the loss is visceral, like a punch in the gut. May the communists derive sustenance as though they were characters in the ballad Johnnie Armstrong’s Last Goodnight? “I will lay me down and bleed a while. Though I am wounded, I am not slain I shall rise and fight again.”
The Greek philosopher Sophocles is spot on when he says: “One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.”
As we seek to measure just how great is the legacy Mtshali has left us, it’s clear how truly splendid his day has been. In sustaining his legacy, the verses from the poem A Psalm of Life, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, best describe how Mtshali should be remembered: “Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time.”
Mtshali has bequeathed us his footprints, which we need to take to heart again to discover our true African identity.
Indeed, we all have the responsibility to ensure that Mtshali’s legacy is not only kept alive, but that it lives within us.
Through this tribute, we celebrate his life and express our appreciation for his
years of service to others. Mtshali may have departed, but he has a lasting and spacious abode in our hearts. What a great man who, with vitality, dedicated himself to the service of humanity, to building bridges between people, irrespective of their locations. Mtshali’s work is done, but his influence lives on. In John Donne’s words:
“Death; be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think’st art dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death….Why swell’st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die.” I close by paraphrasing a line from William Butler Yeatss’ poem, The Municipal Gallery Revisited:
“Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say our glory was we had such a friend.”
This was what Mtshali has been to his family, comrades, South Africa at large: a dear friend. Mtshali has left his rich legacy for which South Africa is enduringly grateful.
When asked to make a few remarks at the unveiling of the tombstone of one of the martyrs of our struggle for liberation, Johannes Nkosi, Mtshali, through his inimitable way of expressing himself, famously remarked that “communists never die, they only change their mode of existence”.
In line with Mtshali’s thinking, he has not died, but changed his mode of existence. I am tempted to say Henry Scott Holland captures Mtshali’s line of thinking, in his poem, Death is Nothing at
All for, when he says, I have only slipped away into the next room: “I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other That we are still. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost Our brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again.” DH Lawrence, in one of his letters said: “The dead don’t die. They look on and help”.
A familiar toast to the departed is also worth tossing in: “To live in the hearts and minds of those left behind is not to die.”
We owe Mtshali and many other unknown freedom fighters a debt we can never pay them. Mtshali belongs to the golden generation of our struggle stalwarts and we give glory to God for sharing his life and existence with us. Shongwe works in the Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal and the article is written in his personal capacity.
His passing is a great loss, an occasion of great sadness for those he helped, supported, encouraged, consoled, uplifted and befriended Vusi Shongwe