Stories of the Liberation Struggles in South Africa: Mpumalanga Province

By Prof. Thabo Israel Pudi

The Stories of the Liberation Struggles in South Africa: Mpumalanga Province is a book about the struggles of the South African people (black, Indian, and colored) when they defied and resisted oppression and apartheid from the white South African government in the pre-1994 era.

To ensure dominance over other race groups and the entrenchment of oppression and apartheid, the white South African government applied many tactics. These included dividing people along racial lines, such as, securing separate living areas for whites, black, Cloureds, and Indians. The government further divided the black people into ethnic groups such as Zulu, Xhosa, and Pedi. This was to ensure that the black people were confined to what was called homelands or Bantustans. The apartheid government also promulgated laws that were aimed at discriminating and undermining the freedom and integrity of the black people, such as The Group Areas Act and others. There was also state of emergencies, which were often declared to ensure that the iron fist of apartheid and oppression remained clenched. During these state of emergencies, many black people died, were maimed, or brutally injured, and some also disappeared forever.

When the apartheid government went further to enforce that the Afrikaans language should be the official language at all schools, then they found that they have committed the greatest error. The students opposed it. Violence erupted from the Soweto schools, and it spread to all other township.

The stories in Part 1 and Part 2 of the books are about the liberation stories of the struggles in South Africa, Mpumalanga province, which touches amongst others, on the toils, the trials, the troubles, and the perils that the youths, especially, had to undergo during that time.

Many youths skipped the country to do military training in order to force the apartheid government to go to the negotiation table for freedom and democracy for all; others waged battles within the country. At many instances, they fought against the might of the South African police armed with rubber bullet, teargas, and live ammunition whilst only armed with stones and dustbin lid as their shields. Many were arrested. Many died in detention. Many died, and there was funeral after funeral when the youths went out to bury their dead. Sometimes when they return from the funerals, they would suffer other casualties. This was a vicious circle of funeral after funeral, but the youths (called the young lions) never gave up. There are, of course, other instances when the youth fought the establishment of homelands or the third force elements (impimpis or askaris), which worked with the system.

There are, of course, other cases of youths who also fought with local business people because these were perceived to be working with their enemies (the white government).

Sad to say, the stories herein also reveal some orgies of the youths fighting and killing people (especially the elderly) who were perceived to be witches. All these stories are true experiences from the contributors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781503518162

Prof. Thabo Israel Pudi

I agree that this book is not about me. It is also not about anybody but about the struggles and the stories of oppression, victimization, and apartheid. Unfortunately, these stories do not come by themselves but through people. It is people who are the custodians of the struggle experiences, and it is from people that such experiences can be elicited and presented for us and for generations after us to know and to interpret. The struggle was a situation that nobody chose but was an unfortunate result and offspring from the system that was meant to undermine the human integrity of others based on race and origin. I also agree that sometimes it provides a good platform to know the background of the author to understand at least why he has decided to write about the struggle and the manner in which he has presented the contents of the struggle. Of course, having been a contributor or a victim of the struggle myself may not necessarily qualify me to write this book, but it makes sense if you have to write what you, yourself, has been involved in—irrespective of the extent of your involvement. By reading between the lines, some readers would be able to create a picture of who this author is and be able to know certain perspectives about the author, which have not been obvious from the written words. I have to confess upfront that I do not own the struggle or the suffering. In fact no one does. However, the old saying that “when the sun shines into the ocean, it is each and every drop of the ocean that is responsible for the shine” gives me the bragging rights that I was indeed part of the struggle irrespective of how infinitesimally small I was submerged in the struggle. Perhaps I should take the opportunity to say that I am nothing but a droplet in the sea of all what could be written about the struggle. However, the great Greek scientist, Archimedes, in one of his famous writings, said these bold words: “Give me a lever long and strong enough, a fulcrum to support it, then I will move the world.” The pen is the lever, and this book is the fulcrum around which the pen in my hand can convey the experiences of the struggle especially of those stories that up until hitherto were on the verge of extinction. The pen is my lever, the book my fulcrum, and equipped with these, I am poised to move South Africa forward—so I hope.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Prof. Thabo Israel Pudi.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2014920611

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5035-1815-5

                Softcover        978-1-5035-1817-9

                eBook             978-1-5035-1816-2

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 by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The opinions expressed in this book are not necessarily those of the author or the publisher but of the contributors concerned.

Where necessary, fictitious names have been used to protect the identity of the persons referred to or implied in the stories.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 02/19/2015

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Contents

Prologue

Challenges

Book setting

Acknowledgements

Important Acronyms

Chapter 01

The Centenary As A Nodal Point

What is a centenary?

Chapter 02

The Strategic Location Of Mpumalanga

Ehlanzeni Region

Nkangala Region

Gert Sibande Region

Bohlabela Region

Chapter 03

Your Stories, My Stories, Our Stories

Story 1: My days as an MK soldier

Story 2: Raising money for the ANC struggles

Story 3: Formation of self-defence units (SDU’s)

Story 4: Diepdale tales

Story 5: A cat has nine lives

Story 6: The perils of the struggle and other experiences

Story 7: The scars that run deep

Story 8: The struggle made me a widow and my child to be…to be an orphan

Story 9: I served tea to my husband’s killers

Story 10: How my brother was maimed for life

Messages Of Support

Bibliography

Struggle Glossary

Political Phrases, Slogans And Their Interpretation

We take this opportunity to salute our fallen hero and father

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Image35098.JPG

Dalibunga, Madiba!

This book is dedicated to

• All the ANC comrades, heroes and heroines who have selflessly waged a struggle against colonialism and oppression and have believed that one day the struggle will be won even when it was almost inconceivable at times to even dream of a democracy that we enjoy today.

• The families and members of the society who in one way or the other (however small or big) have experienced a negative impact in their lives because of the struggle.

• The membership and supporters who made it to Mangaung on 08 January 2012 for that historic opening occasion of the ANC centenary celebrations.

• The different regions, districts and branches for the contributions that they made towards this book and for the wonderful manner in which they conducted the ANC centenary celebrations and the unveiling of the centenary torch, the unveiling of the statues and cenotaphs, the rallies, mini rallies, lectures and seminars conducted during the centenary celebrations in the month of March 2012 and thereafter.

• Lastly, this book is dedicated to you and I, comrades and members of the ANC in good standing. We are part of the one million membership hallmark.

Prologue

T his book is part one of a multi-part series. In this first part the stories about the liberation struggles from the province of Mpumalanga in South Africa are told by mostly ‘nobodies’ who until hitherto were in the shadows of obscurity. They prevailed in a place which, like Nazareth, many thought it does not have any significance to offer on the political terrain. This is the book and the histories told by mostly people who otherwise would not have been offered such an opportunity and a platform. It is the book and the histories of people who have no notion to climb the political bandwagon or platform in order to boost or to bolster their political pedigree and mileage through the media or coverage such as in a book. It is a book and a history of people who do not see a career in politics but have a story to tell about the political struggles and the toils of liberation and their experiences of these struggles. Indeed, our history of the struggle can be told from many fronts. This is one such.

This is the book about ordinary men and women who have stories of the liberation struggles and messages to convey –‘however feeble these may be’. These are stories that by right should be contained in the annals of the history of the political struggle in South Africa – but could have suffered from meticulous selection based on sampling, caste and grading. In this book I have looked beyond ‘who’ as to ‘what’ is being said. Sometimes in this world, and many a’ times, we define the type of wine with the labels on the bottles and that is how we miss the essence of what matters – the wine itself. Society has taught us that you can only learn from the learned and in the words of one academic, as long as you are not a politician, you are rich or famous; you do not have an opinion in society. It is this blinkers that we have around our eyes that will make us stumble and fall.

According to my own conception, feeble as it may be, these are the stories that should not be ‘interred’ with the bones and forgotten as if they never existed and more importantly, forgotten that they were once the important building blocks when the times demanded. These are the stories of sacrifice; dedication; sufferings; risks; pains, selflessness and lives lost but were until hitherto confronted with extinction. These are the stories that can be interpreted to show their significance and relevance to the struggle. These stories, feeble as they may be, constitute a heritage to us as a nation and have a lasting message to all and sundry.

The battles against colonialism, oppression and apartheid were not about leadership and leadership battles within the ANC. As such, the struggle was not only confronted and confined to the leadership but to the masses and the affiliates as well. Leadership battles, positioning or careerism within the ANC marked the end of selflessness. More importantly, the struggle was not about votes and about political parties but was about people’s liberation from oppression and apartheid.

The stories in this book are from the masses, from the affiliates and from the ‘nobodies’. It is the stories of men and women, who stood against odds and in some way, however small, were part of the struggle. They were not promised any rewards except that their actions and risks would bring liberation to all; and in the process risked so much. They risked amongst others incarceration, death and hunger in search for liberation.

Longfellow in his poem, The Donkey demonstrates how even a downtrodden animal such as a donkey (dumb and stupid ass, as it is sometimes called), also has a story to tell. It deserves recognition for its contributions. It (the donkey) calls this its secret (I keep my secret still). It played an important role of carrying Jesus Christ on its back for that grand entrance into Jerusalem. On that day, it (the donkey) was honoured with ululations (shouts about my ears) and palms on its feet. It will probably be the same on the return of Jesus.

In this poem, the donkey tells its story, its secret, which for many years have been forgotten and undermined. The comrades who have carried the ANC, sometimes on their back or those who have laid their lives for the prosperity of the ANC or the ideals of the ANC for the liberation of the people; also needs to be given a platform to share their secrets and encounters. They may be nobodies, downtrodden and forgotten, but their stories and secrets kept over the years, just like that of the donkey in the poem, deserves at least recognition. We can only know where we are going if we have a sense of where we come from and what we have gone through individually and collectively. The ANC is a collective through which the stories of our struggles for liberation from colonialism and oppression should be hanged in the open for all to learn from.

Before losing sight, let me hasten to tell you that this book is premised on the belief that stories of the struggle can best be told by the people who have experienced and in some cases confronted the struggle themselves. Unlike the many books which you know, which base their content on knowledge and interpretation from the author, this book puts the author at the background and the comrades who have experienced the struggle in the forefront. It makes sense because this book is not about the author or his expertise but it is about the ordinary people from Mpumalanga who have some experience of the struggle to share; it is also about the ANCs 100 plus years of survival. Sometimes and many a’ times authors take advantage of the platform they have assumed and use it to drive home their viewpoints or to keep their loyalty with the sponsors or the organization that has ensured such. No one person can be an authority in everything. In fact most of us are not even an authority in any one thing. This reminds me of the sarcastic remark: Those who think they know it all, really annoy us people who do…. We are so quick to judge others without taking into consideration that we shall also be judged by the same measure that we judge others with.

This book is not sponsored by any individual or organization, the ANC included. The little that was used to create this book is as a result of the sacrifice and selflessness of the author who felt the urge to preserve a sample of the reality that is a result of who and where we are today as a nation. It provides a handle upon which we can design and carve our future. The ANC’s first centenary has come and gone. For many reasons, very, very little has been accounted for about the 100 years journey of the ANC. What has not been accounted for in the first century of the ANC will sadly be missing in the second centenary and forever. Those that have experienced and created this history shall have left this world; and with them some of the crucial history or realities of the ANC struggles shall have been interred with their bones.

Make your experiences of the struggle a pivotal stance upon which the history of the ANC can be carved. Tell it now, lest we forget or we die with this treasure. Your stories are a living testimony of the times and the hardships that as a people we have endured due to political domination and oppression. It is your stories that will establish the cornerstones of the history upon which a laager will be built to ensure that ‘never again shall apartheid rear its ugly head and never again shall one race oppress another.’

‘A history untold is a history hidden. A history hidden is a history denied’. Generations after us will have to know our history. Albert Einstein’s quotation rather sums this up: Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree.

It is our obligation to avail this history to generations after us and it is their right to accept this history from us; whether this history is bad or good – whether they like it or not. It is our histories. We do not write a history to suite their taste but to inform them and put them in a position to choose their tastes. Thus generations after us will have to be told the true history which is free of distortions and omissions. Cde Tommy Nkoana believes that The true history of the ANC should be told. He further says: We do not have to distort history in order to portray the ANC in better light. Cde Tommy was specifically referring to the many versions about the errands of iMbokodo and the involvement of the ANC in that period. He believes that there are certain things that are good which iMbokodo has done to the upliftment of the black people and the furtherance of the ANC ideals which have been downplayed. Only the bad ones have been amplified.

The further our history is from the people who experienced it, the more prone it will be to distortions and disagreements. It is thus imperative that our history, the history of the true selfless struggle should be told now. If the ANC’s stories of the selfless struggle would be told any time after now, it will be a history based on hearsay. Like the grapevine, hearsay is a basis for propaganda, distortions, omissions and misrepresentations. Sadly, we can only reiterate the concerns of Cdes Tommy Nkoana and Pallo Jordaan that there is already a lot of propaganda and distortions about the ANC struggles, mostly brought about by foreigners and the media who are intent on sensationalization and secret agendas.

We reiterate the concerns raised mainly by the comrades from Mbombela amongst them, Cde Sandleni, Cde Gerald Sono, Cde Milcharles Shabangu and Cde Michael Jabulane Mndawe that The true history of the ANC is being lost with some of those comrades who are passing on. As such, we should arrest that history before all are gone and we should arrest it now!

Our sincerest apologies to those comrades that have been interviewed but their stories have not been captured in this first part. We want to promise you that your stories are not lost. That your