The Azanian

By Thabiso Monkoe

The Azanian
The author, Thabiso Monkoe was born in 1960. In 1976 he was one of the students who mobilised for the uprisings resulting in the June 1976 Soweto uprising. He is a June ’76 survivor and activist. Thabiso studied Dental technology and Biochemistry at Munster University in West Germany, while in exile. In 1998 he joined the South African National Defence Force and was placed in the Logistics Department in 1 Military Hospital and later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and deployed to the Defence Force Headquarters as a Project Officer for the acquisition of Chemical and Biological Defence Systems. Currently he is a retired military veteran and a hobby photographer.
This book is about the author's life, living on the edge of apartheid after the instability caused by the divorce of his parents. It’s about the life of a forgotten hero, the Azanian!

"An interesting autobiographical account of an important part of our history."

Editor's comment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thabiso Monkoe
• Release date: Feb 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9780620713979

Thabiso Monkoe

I'm the survivor of the 1976 Soweto uuprising and author of THE AZANIAN Memoirs of a survivor living on the edge of Apartheid. I have studied biochemistry in Germany. a retired soldier and a hobby photographer.

Book preview

The Azanian

The Azanian

Memoirs of Thabiso Monkoe

Copyright © 2016 Thabiso Monkoe

Published by Thabiso Monkoeat Smashwords

First edition 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Printed and bound by Novus Print Solutions

Edited by Bronwen Bickerton for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

About the Author

Thabiso Monkoe was born in 1960. In 1976 he was one of the students who mobilised for the uprisings resulting in the June 1976 Soweto uprising. He is a June’76 survivor and activist. Thabiso studied Dental technology and Biochemistry at Munster University in West Germany, while in exile. In 1998 he joined the South African National Defence Force and was placed in the Logistics Department in 1 Military Hospital and later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and deployed to the Defence Force Headquarters as a Project Officer for the acquisition of Chemical and Biological Defence Systems. Currently he is a retired military veteran and a hobby Photographer.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank God for making it possible for me to be able to write this book about my life and times and for having always protected me throughout my life. For having met my second wife, Unathi Monkoe, who motivated and supported me in writing this book, I also thank God.

I want to thank the following people for their objective input in the process of writing this book, my brother-in-arms Justice Monkoe, my sister Nomonde Maswanganye, and my friend and comrade, Jabulani Ndlela.

I want to thank my comrade and former colleague, Lieutenant Col. James Leolo, for having shared with me the absolute sense of adventure when we swam across the Indian Ocean in Tanzania, from the Dar es Salaam coast to the Bongoyo Island, while in exile. We never thought of being on the menu of sharks!

Dedication

I dedicate this book to all those who were tortured and subjected to the brutal interrogations by the security forces of the Apartheid government, who fought and resisted the forces of oppression, from inside and outside the country, and to all the unsung heroes of Azania.

And to my friend Jonas who, while I was exiled, was detained and tortured by the security forces of the Apartheid government because I instigated for him to take part in the uprisings. And to my little brother Thabang who, without my endorsement, took part in the June ’76 uprising and later was brutally killed by mobsters. Rest in peace, brave little brother. I will never forget you.

I also would like to dedicate this book to the family of my best teenage friend, Mbuyiswa ‘Javas’ Mthimkhulu. Rest in peace my friend. And to Lotta who was among the first victims of the uprisings, rest in peace my friend.

And to my dear mother, Nomvula Ngculu ka Mkhasibe, who never spent a single night without being harassed by the security forces; may your soul rest in peace and love.

And to my sisters Nomonde and Lindi, who had to witness each time when the security forces came with regularity to our home during the night, hoping to find me, and forcefully dragged our mother out of the house for interrogations at the police station, leaving behind traumatised kids.

And my daughters, Naledi and Dineo, born in exile. Love you lots!

Foreword

A few years ago, after filling out forms for the application of my military pension, which required a summary of my biography, my wife Unathi Monkoe, noticed that I had a story to tell, a story of a forgotten hero.

A paragraph became a page which eventually became this book!

This is about me living on the edge of Apartheid after the divorce of my parents.

Contents

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Foreword

Growing Up

The Dairy Farm

The Elephant

The Twist

The Divorce

The Escape

Background

The Delinquent

Homeless

The Sleeping Dead

False Identity

The Last Tuesday

The D-Day Meeting

The D-Day

The Aftermath

Border Crossing

Exiled in Tanzania

The Coma

The Rebel

Exiled in Germany

Back Home

The Integration

The Hospital Experience

Conclusion

Chapter 1

Growing Up

I was born in 1960 in Orlando East. I was born in the same year the Sharpeville Massacre occurred. In the beginning of 1976, I was one of the students who mobilised for the Soweto uprisings that turned into the massacre, the June ‘76 Soweto uprising.

When I was a kid, I was not read bedtime stories like other kids, instead my father used to perform the ‘Old McDonald’ rhyme for me, which I loved very much, especially when he imitated the sounds made by animals of ‘Old McDonald’, and I used to laugh my lungs out until he tucked me into my bed.

I remember one evening, I wanted to stay awake a little longer. It was a little late, after dinner, and my mother was still fixing the lace curtain of the dining room when I went to bed but found I couldn’t fall asleep.

After numerous attempts at trying to

Reviews for The Azanian

[Thabiso Monkoe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a pacey piece of work with factual historic background, I loved the way the author takes us by the hand from childhood to adulthood with all the adventure which reminded me of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. An exellent work.