Conspiracy of silence circles Sobukwe
Truth about many sacrifices made by great pan-africanist needs to be known, writes
FORTY years since the death of Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe on February 27, 1978, his selfless contributions to change the nature of the struggle, from weakwilled one-day protests to a rolling multi-frontal challenge, can never be forgotten.
Sobukwe is credited for the paradigm shift that made the apartheid government a pariah of the world when its reactionary violence and brute force were used against peaceful protesters on March 21, 1960 in the Sharpeville and Langa townships.
Before that, Thekiso Sol
Plaatje, the first secretary-general of the ANC, had said that the 1913 Land Act had made the black man “a pariah in his land of birth”.
Sharpeville intensified the struggle internationally, spurred the oppressed to have nothing to do with divisive programmes of the government, and enabled the just war platform to intensify.
This outcome is synonymous with Mangaliso Sobukwe’s leadership.
Born on December 5, 1924 in Graaff-reinet, his ordinary working parents wished that their son could acquire higher education and live a fulfilling and rewarding life.
He was a typical A-grade pupil working his way up with good results. Healdtown College gave him a bursary when he qualified for a teaching certificate.
He studied for a public administration degree at the University College of Fort Hare in 1945, a time when restive young Turks were uncomfortable with the slow pace taken by the old guard in the ANC leadership.
The leadership preferred a gradualist approach, patience with the establishment, as they worked towards the end goal of freedom.
But a young medical doctor, Lionel Mxolisi Majombozi, pushed for the quick establishment of the Congress Youth League. He died soon thereafter in a car crash, but the message for freedom in our lifetime had already gained currency among militant young people who favoured African nationalism as their credo.
ANC president AB Xuma criticised the concept of “a party within the party” for its potential to send mixed messages to followers. His grave concerns over this strategy were dismissed.
When the tsunami of impatience reached its height, the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. He was an advocate of Christian principles and nonviolence. The Western world was endorsing his stance.
In May 1969, Sobukwe was released from prison and banished to the Kimberley magisterial district, where he faced a 24-hour house arrest.
His widow, Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe, a trained nursing sister, testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in
1996 that her husband had been poisoned while on Robben Island and was released suddenly when his health was going south fast. She demanded answers on what had been truthfully done to him during the two-week period when she could not locate him on Robben Island prison.
The classified files on Sobukwe have not been opened up by the state security and intelligence authorities in the democratic dispensation – 40 years since his death.
The public needs to know who comprised the network of informants on his every move when he was restricted. There is a need to access their handlers’ reports.
Seasoned journalists from abroad interviewed Sobukwe at his No 6 Naledi Street, Galeshewe township house. Research fellows from prestigious universities in the US did extensive exploration of his ideas between 1969 and
1978, in which their source had to be authentic.
Even foreign diplomats, such as US congressman Andrew Young – who took interest in his personal circumstances – held discussions with Sobukwe in person and via long-distance telephone.
They all should have recorded their interviews with Sobukwe.
Yet, there are no visuals of recorded motion and voice of Sobukwe made out for public consumption.
Is the conspiracy of silence on Sobukwe maintained even when there is no known threat that would come out of his historical messages?
We have to ask, are South African authorities and citizens ungrateful for the selfless contribution and firm leadership that their noble son – Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe – has rendered?
Seroke is secretary for political and Pan-african affairs in the PAC, and editor of Sobukwe – A Pictorial Biography.