Pan African Bar Association of South Africa a continuation of Black Consciousness Movement
THE CREATION of the Pan African Bar Association of South Africa (Pabasa) is a welcome development in the pursuit of black self-reliance. It fits in perfectly with Anton Lembede’s (1941) contention of “freedom”.
He wrote, “...when Africans are free, they will be in a position to pilot their own ship and, unhampered, work toward their own destiny and, without external hindrance or restriction, devise ways and means of saving or rescuing their perishing race”.
It mirrors the 1968 move by black students, led by Steve Biko, when they moved out of the National Union of South African Students (Nusas) to create the South African Students’ Organisation (Saso) which, for all intents and purpose, was the real seed that germinated into the Broederbond realising the futility of apartheid and the National Party embarking on “reforms” from about 1978.
It is unfortunate that in all that is reported about Pabasa, no precedent is quoted by these men of law who utilise “precedent” so much in arguing their cases. It is probable that they have sucked too much of the re-constructed view of our past.
They probably cannot infer the similarity of their action to that of black students in 1968. They must however realise that they may be trying to re-discover the wheel. Their move is an endorsement of the correctness of the creation of Saso.
Authentic history will record that the formation of Saso was “the single most important development in the internal politics of South Africa in the period (of) 1967-76” as one Sam Nolutshungu stated in 1982. The outcome of the creation of Saso is the changes in the apartheid legal framework of the late 70s which progressed to approaches to the likes of Mandela in jail in the mid-80s.
Let us hope that the formation of Pabasa shall be the most important development in the evolution of legal practice among Africans in South Africa.
The foundation of a new South Africa was a false notion of “non-racialism” which in reality means that the majority Africans were now being allowed into the white spaces, therefore they must adapt and assimilate to the ways of the white settler.
The passion of the 70s that Africans are as capable as anyone to contribute to the development of the world can be achieved through solidarity of black people. Black Consciousness was violently curtailed in the late 80s.
Pabasa should rise 25 years into so-called democracy with Steve Biko’s vision.
No amount of lies and propaganda can remove the fundamental truth, “Black man you are on your own.”
DR KENOSI MOSALAKAE Houghton, Joburg