Friday, December 31, 2021

WHAT THE LATE ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU SAID TO THE RULING ANC IN OCTOBER 2011

 

 


 

 “YOU ARE DISGRACEFUL” – ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU WHEN CONDEMNING THE ANC FOR REFUSING TO GRANT A VISA TO THE EXILED LEADER OF TIBET, THE DALAI LAMA, IN OCTOBER 2011

 

 

“I am warning you. I am warning you that as we had prayed for the downfall of the apartheid government, we will pray for the downfall of a government that misrepresents us.”

 




In October 2011 when the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu was about to celebrate his 80th birthday, he came out speaking very strongly against the democratic government led by the ruling ANC.

He was unhappy that the ANC Government, that he and other anti-apartheid religious and socially-conscious leaders had helped to bring to power in April 1994, was, within a matter of only seven years, “behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we have stood for”.





He was especially furious that the ANC Government had refused to grant the exiled leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, a visa to visit South Africa in October 2011. Tutu extended an invitation to the Dalai Lama to attend his 80th birthday celebration in Cape Town.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu addressed a press conference to express his disquiet at the manner in which the ANC had lost its values and principles.

His response to the ANC’s refusal to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama demonstrated that he would not bow down to anyone or organisation who failed to promote and uphold democratic principles.

Now only a few days, after his passing on December 26 (2021) at the age of 90, when most South Africans are paying their tribute to the Archbishop, it’s appropriate to recall what he said early in October 2011.





 

“TROUBLE IS THAT THE ANC THINKS THAT THE FREEDOM WE ENJOY TODAY IS DUE TO THEM”  

 

This is what he had stated:

 

“This government, our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least we expected this from the apartheid government.

“Our government (the new ANC Government) we were expecting that now we would have a government that was sensitive to the sentiments of our constitution.`

“The trouble I think is that the ANC on the whole reckon that the freedom that we enjoy today is due to them. That is what they reckon that everybody else is just a side-line.

“Now there was a time when the people who were leading the struggle were religious leaders.

“I sat in Parliament when this President (Jacob Zuma) of ours was giving his state of the nation address. This President, I am sitting in the audience, I listened to this President telling, I mean he was paying tribute to all kinds of people who have helped in bringing about democracy in this country.

“This President did not mention a single religious leader.

“In 1989, religious leaders said to the people of Cape Town “we have had enough”. It was religious leaders who got 30 000 people to come to march.

 

LET THE ANC KNOW THAT THEY CANNOT   AIRBRUSH US OUT

 

“Let the ANC know that they cannot airbrush us out.

“Let the ANC know that they have a large majority.  Well, Mubarak had a large majority, Gadaffi had a large majority.

 

          I AM WARNING YOU, WATCH OUT

 

“Watch out, I am warning you, watch out, watch out, please watch out.

“We were helped by the international community to overcome apartheid, we. People were opposed to injustice and oppression and people believed that we South Africans would automatically be on the side of those who were being oppressed.

‘Mr Zuma, you and your government don’t represent me.

“You represent your own interests and I am warning you, really warning you out of love. I am warning you like I have warned the nationalists (former apartheid rulers).

 

                  YOU ARE DISGRACEFUL

“I am warning you that one day we will start praying for the defeat of the ANC Government. You are disgraceful.

“I want to warn you that you are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we have stood for.

“I am warning you, I am warning you that as we had prayed for the downfall of the apartheid government we will pray for the downfall of a government that misrepresents us.

“You have got a huge majority. That’s nothing. The nationalists (former apartheid rulers) had a huge majority and increased. But it disappeared into dust. Watch out ANC Government, watch out, watch out, watch out.”  Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com December 31 2021

Monday, December 13, 2021

SUGAR CANE FIELDS OF OTTAWA SHAPED MY LIFE AS A SOCIALLY AND POLITICALLY CONSCIOUS JOURNALIST

 

(Bluebells House sports team in the early 1950s when I attended the Jhugroo Government Aided-Indian Primary School. The school was situated on the site where the Globe's Shopping Centre is now situated. Some of my pupils I can recall are (back row  l to r) - Radha, Baby, Kalimuthu, Valiatham, Ismail Dhooma, Janaki ..... . (Centre) Our teacher, Prithima, .. teacher, Moon Subrayen, .. D S Maharaj. Front row: Marimuthu (Subry Govender) and colleague)


BIRTHDAY STORY INTRO:

On Wednesday, December 15 (2021) I will turn 75 and my Ottawa social chat group asked me to write something briefly about my life in Ottawa and life thereafter.

I wrote this short article trying to capture some aspects of a Ottawa resident.

 

SUGAR CANE FIELDS OF OTTAWA SHAPED MY LIFE AS A SOCIALLY AND POLITICALLY CONSCIOUS JOURNALIST

 

I was born in the historical area of Cato Manor in Durban and after a few years in Isipingo, our family moved to Munn Road in Ottawa.

My father, Subramoney Munien, who worked at Unilever for more than 40 years, and mother, Salatchie, who worked at Flash Clothing, struggled all their lives to bring up seven children and later two adopted children.

My siblings are Ambiga, the eldest who is now settled in Phoenix; Nanda, now in Sea Tides; Sydney, now in Johannesburg; Violet, now in Merebank and moving to Johannesburg in January; Nelson (now late) stayed in Tongaat; and Childie, who is now in Verulam.

My adopted brother, Mashla Marimuthu, who was born in Blackburn estate, is now late; and Angela, who belonged to the Buddha family who used to stay on the Main Road, near the Hans shopping centre, is now settled in Kharwastan, near Chatsworth.



(Ottawa boasted a number of top class footballers. Here in this photo in the mid 1960s members and supporters of the Ottawa United Football Club at the Verulam Recreation ground)


Our immediate neighbours in Munn Road were the grand-parents of Atom and Molly, who cultivated a huge mango plantation; Sukiya and Johnny; Narain Naicker and family; Gita and her family; Jack Naidoo, Tip Top, George and family; Kandasamy Naidoo and family; Vasie Govender and family; Beacon and family; the John Chetty family; the Bugwandeen family; the fat Harry family; Pat and family; Gokool Dutt and family; Barry, Krish and the rest of the Naicker family; the Zadick Yagambaram family and several others whose full names escapes me now.



(Some of the early friends of Ottawa (l to r): Rusty Maharaj, Mohan, Steven, Adam Sayed (who lived in a house at the corner of Munn and School roads - the house is still there and his sisters live in it), and Sam)


Most of us as youngsters first attended the old Jhugroo school, which was situated where Globes Shopping Centre is now in operation; and the new school, right near to our tin house in Munn Road.

After completing my standard six at Jhugroo, I attended the Verulam High School where I completed by matric in 1964.

While still growing up as a young boy in Ottawa and working as a labourer at the Ottawa Sugar Estate during the school holidays, I became aware of the social and political oppression of that time.

One incident stirred my socio-political-economical interest while Veeran Maharaj, George Naidoo and myself were busy on the third day of our work in the sugar cane fields situated not far from where the home of the late K C George Moonsamy is still situated.

It was sometime in March 1961. I heard a loud voice and upon checking to see what was going on, I saw the supervisor shouting, screaming and even using swear words at some of the women workers.

I questioned his unacceptable attitude but was told if I was not happy with what was going on, I should leave with my friends.

This gave us no alternative but to return to our village. On the third day we were paid 90 cents each for working for three days.

This unfortunate incident in the sugar cane field had a significant effect on me and aroused my interest in the sugar cane estates and its inhabitants as I began to complete my high school education. The school principal, Mr Simon David, and three teachers, a Mr Kissoon, Mr K P Rajoo and Mr P A Pillay also awakened a consciousness in me about the arrival of our forefathers and mothers as indentured labourers and the socio-economical-political climate prevailing at that time.

And when I completed my matriculation in 1964, I became attracted to journalism and worked for the Daily News, Sunday Tribune, Natal Mercury, Post, Graphic and Leader as a free-lancer before joining the Daily News as a full-time reporter in March 1973.

While working at the Daily News, I completed my degree in Political Science and International Relations at UNISA. At the same time, I became involved in the establishment of the Union of Black Journalists (UBJ) after the June 1976 Soweto uprisings. Later after the UBJ was banned in October 1977, I became involved in the establishment of the Association of Democratic Journalists (ADJ), Writers Association of South Africa(WASA) and the Media Workers Association of SA(MWSA).

At this time, I was seen as a “coolie media terrorist” by the former security police and I was banned and house-arrested for three-and-half years. This prohibited me from continuing with my work as a journalist and heading the Press Trust of SA News Agency, which I established in December 1983. I was also denied my passport for 10 years from 1980 to 1990.

The denial of a passport prevented me from taking up a scholarship at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to study for my post-graduate in Political Science and International Relations. I was also prevented from taking up a two-year assignment at Radio Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) in Koln.

After my banning order expired in mid-1984, I continued with my work as a foreign correspondent for the Press Trust of India (PTI) and a number of international radio stations, including the BBC, Radio Deutsche Welle, Radio Nederlands, Radio France Internationale and radio stations in America, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand.

All my work revolved around the struggles for a free, non-racial and democratic South Africa.

When Nelson Mandela was released in February 1990, I was there in Cape Town to report on his release to PTI and other media outlets around the world. And when the new democratic order came into being in April 1994, I was there in Johannesburg-Pretoria to report on Mandela being installed as the first democratic president.

I also accompanied Mandela during an official visit to India in 1995 after I joined the SABC as a senior political correspondent. And when Mandela passed on in 2012, I was there in Pretoria and Umtata to report his passing to PTI and the world. I also travelled with other journalists to cover the visit of Thabo Mbeki to India in 2 000. And in 2009 I was assigned by the SABC to cover the Tsunami disaster in southern India.

In 2010 I was invited by the Government of India to attend the conference of Indian Diaspora in Chennai. Indian-origin journalists from other parts of the world also attended the Diaspora conference. 

During the early 1980s, I initiated the establishment of our extended Muniamma Family Social Club. The family social club was named after my grand-mother, Mrs Muniamma Coopoosamy Govender, who was born in the Blackburn Sugar estate, where our great-grand-parents toiled as indentured labourers after arriving from India in 1881.

The establishment of the Muniamma Family Social Club encouraged me to research our roots and this led to me and my wife, Thyna, visiting the little villages of Damal and Navalpore in the North Arcott District of Tamil Nadu in March 1990.

Our family history book, Flight of Young Lovers, was completed in 2017 and the book was launched  at an elaborate extended family gathering of more than 200 members at the Enchanted Gardens Conference Centre at the old Louis Botha international airport, near Isipingo, on April 28 2018.

I retired from active journalism in 2019, and am currently researching my work during the journalist years in my efforts to capture in a book my life story. I am also enjoying playing golf at least three times a week. My wife, Thyna, also plays golf and we travel around to participate in a number of tournaments.

We have one son, Kennedy Pregarsen, and two daughters, Seshini and Nomzamo, and six grand-children. They are all living and working in Johannesburg.

Our eldest twin grandsons, Dasi and Diva, have just celebrated their 20th birthday.



(Two friends, Bobby and            , and I travelled to Maputo in Mozambique (Lourenzo Marques ) in the late 1970s for a holiday. We travelled to LM in Bobby's car)




(While searching for photos for this article I came across this picture of the young daughter (left) of Mr Naningar, who lived with his large family in Maharaj Road near the new school and the home of Mr Parthab. The young lady, her name escapes me, was the sister of Tuba, Moga and other siblings. The other lady's name  in the picture also escapes me.)



When growing up in Ottawa in the late 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, we came to know the whole of Ottawa as One Big Family. The relationship we enjoyed then is something to be proud of and admired. We used to fetch water from the river in two huge drums attached to a banga, enjoyed fishing in the nearby clean and environmentally-friendly river, played soccer on the sandy river field, swam in the heavy ponds in the river and generally enjoyed everything that the river gave us.

On one occasion, however, I nearly drown in deep water near the railway line bridge. Fortunately, my brother, Nanda, was standing nearby and he jumped in and pulled me out.

I was lucky.

Ottawa was also a village where we could visit our neighbours’ homes and the homes of others living in the then Tin Town, Central, and Uplands with all the hospitality and respect.  Over the years my siblings and I came to know each and every family that lived in Ottawa at that time.



(Members of the Ottawa branch of the SA Red Cross Society taking a break at the beach. (From L to R) : Barney, Mr         , Chotoo, Dicky Maharaj,  Ramnanan, Mr Padaychee , Marimuthu (Subry Govender) and Mr Moses)


As a young boy I became a member the Ottawa branch of the South African Red Cross Society. Some of the people I remember who were members were Mr Dicky Maharaj, Mr Ramnanan, who owned the shop in Uplands, Mr Chotoo, who lived near Mr Ramnan’s shop,  Mr Barney of bottom Munn Road; Mr Moses, who lived near the top shop; and a gentleman who lived with his family on a property owned by George Singh’s family in School Road.

We also took an active interest in football and I played and managed one of the Ottawa teams that played in the Verulam Football Association in the early days. At one time in the 1980s I also headed the Verulam Football Association for a period of two years.

We all grew up with kindness and friendliness for one another. I wish we could enjoy that type of life once again.  Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Dec 12 2021

Sunday, December 12, 2021

MUNIAMMA SOCIAL CLUB - BOOK LAUNCH PHOTOS TO RE-KINDLE EXTENDED FAMILY AWARENESS




(Dundee aunty (front left), Soundler Govender (second top) together with  sister Amoy Moodley and other family members. Since the launch of the book, Dundee aunty and Soundler aunty have passed on. The only surviving member of the original clan and second generation descendant, Amoy Aunty, of Chatsworth)


PHOTOS OF THE LAUNCH OF THE MUNIAMMA FAMILY HISTORY BOOK
(The researcher and compiler of the book, Subry Gove
nder, with the organising committee)






NEARLY THREE YEARS AGO ON APRIL 28 2018, MEMBERS OF THE EXTENDED MUNIAMMA SOCIAL CLUB FAMILY LAUNCHED THEIR FAMILY HISTORICAL BOOK AT THE ENCHANTED GARDENS CONFERENCE CENTRE AT THE OLD LOUIS BOTHA AIRPORT, NEAR ISIPINGO, DURBAN.

THE BOOK, FLIGHT OF YOUNG LOVERS, RECALLS THE DEPATURE OF THEIR ANCESTORS, KANDASAMI NAIKEN AND THANJI, UNDER TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES FROM THE VILLAGE OF NAVALPORE IN THE NORTH ARCOTT DISTRICT OF TAMIL NADU AND THEIR ARRIVAL IN THE FORMER NATAL COLONY IN SOUTH AFRICA.

THEIR ANCESTORS WORKED AS INDENTURED LABOURERS AT THE BLACKBURN SUGAR ESTATE, NEAR MOUNT EDGECOMBE, WHERE THEIR TWO DAUGHTERS, MUNIAMMA, AND YELLAMAH      WERE BORN.

THE BOOK ALSO RECALLS THE MOVE OF THEIR ANCESTORS TO NEWCASTLE AFTER THEIR INDENTURES AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT SETTLEMENT IN DAYAL ROAD, CLAIRWOOD, DURBAN.

IT WAS HERE THAT MUNIAMMA AND YELLAMAH WERE MARRIED AND MUNIAMMA GIVING BIRTH TO 14 CHILDREN, 11 OF WHOM WHO SURVIVED TO GIVE BIRTH TO THE GREATER MUNIAMMA EXTENDED FAMILY.

CURRENTLY THE FAMILY RUNS INTO SIX GENERATIONS AND MORE THAN 500 DESCENDANTS.  

THIS FEATURE OF PHOTOS IS BEING PUBLISHED ONCE AGAIN TO INSTIL THE VALUES OF THE EXTENDED FAMILY IN THE CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.

SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THE BOOK IN 2018, TWO OF THE SURVIVING ELDERS, SAVUNDALAY PADAYCHEE OF DUNDEE, AND SOUNDLER GOVENDER OF CHATSWORTH HAVE PASSED ON.

ONLY AMOY GOVENDER OF CHATSWORTH IS THE LAST SURVIVING DESCENDANT OF THE SECOND GENERATION OF THE GREATER MUNIAMMA FAMILY.




 



















Thursday, November 25, 2021

NELSON MANDELA – HIS RICH LEGACY OF A UNITED, PEACEFUL, NON-RACIAL AND DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA SHOULD BE A LESSON FOR ALL THOSE ELEMENTS WHO WANT TO PROMOTE RACIAL INTOLERANCE AND DISHARMONY ESPECIALLY IN THE DURBAN AREA OF SOUTH AFRICA

 



 

 

NOVEMBER 25 2021

 

At a time when many South Africans, especially those living in and around Durban, Pietermaritzburg and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal, are anxious about their everyday lives following the disturbances in July this year (2021), I would like to recall the rich legacy of non-racialism, peace, democracy and unity promoted by freedom icon and South Africa’s first democratic president, Nelson Mandela.

In the following feature, I want to remind South Africans about how Mandela promoted unity and a “South Africa for all” despite him being deprived of his freedom for more than half his life – 27 years of which was being imprisoned on Robben Island.

 

IDEAL OF A DEMOCRATIC AND FREE SOUTH AFRICA

 

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”




 

The late former South African President, Nelson Mandela, was more than just a political leader.

This correspondent, who has covered Nelson Mandela ever since his release on February 11 1990 and right up to his death in December 2013, believes that wherever he is now, Mandela will be deeply disillusioned and disappointed by actions of those political leaders who are now spreading racial hatred and disunity.

It seems that these new elements have no respect or regard for Mandela’s RICH LEGACY of unity, peaceful co-existence, non-racialism and democracy.

 

RICH LEGACY OF NON-RACIALISM, UNITY, PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE AND DEMOCRACY




 

Although Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades and spent more than 50 years of his life fighting white minority rule, he has always promoted the values and principles of unity and peaceful co-existence of the majority African people alongside the white, coloured and Indian-origin communities.

He first demonstrated his desire for a peaceful and united South Africa only a few hours after his release from prison on February 11 1990. Addressing a massive crowd of people at the Grand Parade in Cape Town, he said:

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

                    


F W de KLERK: “Man of integrity”

 

At the same time, he went further to demonstrate his commitment to a peaceful South Africa when in his speech he showed no animosity to his former oppressors and spoke highly of the last white President, F W de Klerk, who passed away a few weeks ago.

De Klerk, not only made Mandela’s release possible, but was also chiefly responsible for the peaceful transfer of power from the white minority to the black majority, led by Mandela’s African National Congress.

He referred to De Klerk as a “man of integrity” despite drawing some “no, no” from the people who had gathered to welcome him as a free man.

This is what he said about De Klerk:

“Mr De Klerk has gone further than any other Nationalist President in taking real steps to normalise the situation.

“It must be added that Mr De Klerk himself is a man of integrity.”

Mandela pursued the unity theme throughout the negotiations process from 1990 and thereafter as President, and during his retirement.




Only five days before he was installed as the country’s first democratic President on May 10 1994, Mandela outlined his vision for the new South Africa when he addressed a large crowd of people in Cape Town. This public meeting was organised with the support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and struggle stalwarts such as Dr Alan Boesak, Trevor Manuel and Mr Dullah Omar.




He once again spoke of the new non-racial South Africa being a country where all people would live in peace and harmony.

 


“CITIZENS OF ONE NATION”

 

“The South Africa we have struggled for, in which all our people, be they African, coloured, Indian or white, regard themselves as citizens of one nation is at hand. We honour the best sons and daughters of all our people. We can count amongst them, Africans, coloureds, whites, Indians, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jews – all of them united by a common vision of a better life for the people of this country.”

He showed this theme when he established his first democratic government. It was not only all inclusive but he also ensured that the different communities were represented in his Cabinet. He also travelled the length and breadth of South Africa in order re-assure the different cultural and religious groups that individual and group rights would be protected in the new, non-racial and democratic South Africa.

 

“NO CULTURAL GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL SHOULD FEEL INSECURE IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA”




 

In one address in Durban in November 1994, Mandela gave an assurance that no cultural group or individual should feel insecure and that they should become part of the new South Africa. This is what he said:

“The benefits of the new era for peace and prosperity, freedom and tolerance will now be clear. We are one nation of many cultures and religions. No community or religion has anything to fear from non-racialism and democracy. On the contrary, all communities and religions now enjoy equal respect without preference.”

In one address in Soweto in Johannesburg during the same period, Mandela told the people that the ANC did not regard itself as conquerors. This was his theme throughout his five-year term as President and when he stepped down in 1999 it was the same message that he passed down to his successor, President Thabo Mbeki, and other leaders within the ruling ANC.

And in 2008 when South Africans observed the 32nd anniversary of the Soweto uprisings, Mandela used the occasion to once again remind the youth that they must work towards promoting unity and non-racialism.

This was his message: “As future leaders of this country your challenge is to foster a nation in which all people, irrespective of race, colour, sex, religion or creed, can assert social cohesion fully. Mindful of your own challenge you must continue to promote the principle of relentless freedom and democracy as it is the foundation upon which issues of human rights are ingrained.”

But now for the first time since 1994 many people are justly concerned that Mandela’s sacrifices for our freedom may have been in vain. This is due to the unchecked way in which some political elements are poisoning the minds of young people and others through their racially-inciting demagogury.

It seems that these new political elites have no respect or regard for the values and principles of a united, free, peaceful and democratic society that Mandela had pursued during his life.

Mandela would definitely be feeling disillusioned and disappointed wherever he is now.  Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Nov 25 2021

 

Sunday, November 21, 2021

GRIFFITH MXENGE – RECALLING THE LIFE OF A POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST WHO WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED 40 YEARS AGO TODAY ON NOVEMBER 19 1981




At a time when South Africans are caught up in a debate about the future of the non-racial and democratic South Africa that progressive organisations and leaders had fought and died for, I want to bring to life one of the activists and leaders who fought valiantly for this goal until he was brutally assassinated 40 years ago on November 19 1981. 

Struggle stalwart and human rights lawyer, Mlungusi Griffiths Mxenge, was brutally bludgeoned to death by members of the dreaded security police of the former apartheid regime on this day and his body was dumped in the township of Umlazi in Durban.

Mxenge, who was born in a village near King Williams Town in 1935, studied at the University of Fort Hare and later at the University of Natal in Durban where he obtained his law degree. 

While studying in Durban he was arrested, detained and charged with being a member of the ANC, which was banned in 1960. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment on Robben Island. After his release he continued with his studies in Durban and graduated to become a well-known anti-apartheid lawyer in the former “Grey Street” area of Durban. 

I befriended Mxenge in the early 1970s when I started work as a full-time journalist at the Daily News, situated at 85 Field Street (now Joe Slovo Street) in the city at that time. Mxenge emerged as a fearless lawyer who fought the cases of activists who were arrested and detained despite himself being harassed, detained and banned by the oppressive regime. 

He also participated in most anti-apartheid organisations, especially the Release Mandela Campaign, which was established to mobilise South Africa and the international community for the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners. 

 He also joined this correspondent and other activists such as Dr Khorshed Ginwala, Dr A E Gangat and Archie Gumede to spearhead the setting up of the alternative newspaper, Ukusa, in Durban in the early 1980s. He was married to Victoria Nonyamezelo, who was also brutally murdered by agents of the apartheid police in the drive way of her home in Umlazi in 1987. 

Griffith and Victoria Mxenge were posthumously awarded the Luthuli Award in Silver in 2006 for paying the ultimate price for “defending the rights of oppressed South Africans to exist in conditions of freedom, justice, peace and democracy”. 

 A few weeks after he was assassinated, the Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency published the following article and distributed it around the world. 

The article was published under the headline: “Black South Africa loses another civil rights fighter at the hands of right-wing thugs”. Then in a follow-up article five months after his cruel assassination, the Press Trust published another article titled: “Death of Prominent Political Attorney still a mystery”. This was published on April 19 1982. Almost a year later, the Press Trust published another article under the headline: “Griffith Mxenge – killers not brought to justice” on November 10 1982. All these articles are being re-published here to enrich the lives of the new generations about the sacrifices made by our leaders for the freedom they enjoy today. 

But this freedom appears to be under threat from some forces who only want to promote racial hatred and intolerance between the different communities. 



BLACK SOUTH AFRICA LOSES ANOTHER CIVIL RIGHTS FIGHTER AT THE HANDS OF RIGHT-WING THUGS 

 When Steven Bantu Biko died violently while in South African police custody on September 12 1977 it was one of the most tragic events in the life of the black majority in the country. But yet to the ruling minority at this time, its leaders and the establishment media he was an “unknown quantity”. 

On Thursday, November 19 1981, just five years later, another prominent personality espousing freedom aspirations, Mr Griffiths Mlungusi Mxenge, also died violently and still the ruling community and its media were ignorant of the importance of the man. 

His wife, Mrs Nonyamezel Mxenge, could not believe what she saw when she went to identify his body at a Government mortuary in Durban. Mr Mxenge was butchered. His head had been bashed in, his ears were chopped off, stomach ripped and his whole body inflicted with wounds made by a sharp instrument. 

When news of his gruesome death first became known early on Friday (November 20) morning, black leaders and the community at large were numbed into shock and disbelief. He was no ordinary man. But yet to the majority of the minority community his death was passed off as just another “black death”. The height of ignorance among most minority people is typified by the comments of three white news editors of three large newspapers in Durban. When told of his death by their reporters, the newspapers apparently asked: “Whose Mr Mxenge”. 

Although Mr Mxenge’s death is of similar significance to that of Steve Biko, he was a man who wielded tremendous influence in relevant black circles. The 46-year-old father of three young children was one of the country’s most prominent black lawyers and as such he knew the pain, suffering, aspirations and goals of the black disenfranchised people. 

He carried out his legal work with his wife, Nonyamezel, who is also an attorney, from offices in the “Grey Street” area of Durban. Mr Mxenge, a member of the African National Congress before it was banned in 1960, graduated as a lawyer from the University of Natal in 1975 after being released from Robben Island a few years earlier. He served three years on the notorious island after being found guilty of alleged ANC activities. 

On his release in the early 1970s he was prohibited from continuing with his law studies because of a banning order. But when he started his practice, he became one of the most sought after political civil rights lawyers in South Africa. He travelled widely to represent political activists throughout the country. He was initiated into the cruel world of political trials when he was the instructing attorney for the widow of Joseph Mdluli, the ANC member who died while in detention on March 19 1976. Although he was the family’s lawyer, Mr Mxenge was detained on March 27 and held without trial for 103 days. 

Thereafter he was the instructing attorney in many political trials in the various centres of South Africa, especially in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Johannesburg. He was also the attorney for the family of Mapetla Mohapi, the secretary general of the South African Students Organisation (SASO), who died while in police custody in Port Elizabeth on July 15 1976. Early in 1980, he represented Chief Sabata Dalindeybo, the Paramount Chief of the Tembus in the Transkei who was found guilty of making disparaging statements against Transkei’s so-called independence and Chief Kaizer Matanzima. Chief Dalindeybo has now skipped the country and has joined the ANC in exile. 


More recently Mr Mxenge was actively involved in the Anti-SAIC campaigns of the Natal Indian Congress; Anti-Republic Committee which was established to protest against the 25th anniversary of the apartheid republic. He was also a founder member of the new black newspaper, Ukuza, which was started by the banned journalist, Mr Marimuthu Subramoney; and of the Release Mandela Committee. Early this year when about 11 South Africans were killed in a South African Defence Force raid on ANC houses in Matola in Mozambique, Mr Mxenge attempted to get their bodies to their families in South Africa. 

But when this failed he made all the arrangements for the families of the dead men to travel to Maputo for the funeral that was addressed by the president of the ANC, Mr Oliver Tambo, and the president of Mozambique, Mr Samora Machel. 



The president of the Release Mandela Committee, Mr Archie Gumede, said there was no doubt whatsoever that Mr Mxenge was a victim of “political assassination”. “We are deeply perturbed and shocked that a man who contributed so much to the cause of the black people should be so brutally assassinated. They can kill thousands of Mxenges but they will still not kill the black people’s quest for liberation,” he said. 

        (Mr Archie Gumede)


                                                           (Mr M J Naidoo)

The vice-president of the Natal Indian Congress, Mr M J Naidoo, said that Mr Mxenge   would not want the black people to mourn his death but to continue with the struggles. “His death has not been in vain. The struggle for which Griffith contributed so much will be eventually won by the democratic-loving people of this country,” said Mr Naidoo. Ends – Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency November 27 1981





GRUESOME MURDER OF PROMINENT POLITICAL ATTORNEY STILL A MYSTERY 

April 19 1982 




More than five months after the brutal murder of one of South Africa’s most prominent black political attorneys, Mr Griffith Mxenge, there is still no visible sign that the Pretoria police are doing anything about it. 

Mr Mxenge, 47, was assassinated on the night of November 19 1981 after he had left his Durban office to return home in the African township of Umlazi. A former member of the banned African National Congress (ANC) and a former Robben Island prisoner, Mr Mxenge played a significant role in defending political activists and in the general community life of the black people. 

Just before his killing he was one of the kingpins in the campaign against the elections that were held for the first time for South Africa’s people of Indian-origin. The campaign proved a major success when only about eight percent of the people turned out at the polls. His death was mourned by the entire black community and some progressive whites and all of them knew that he was the victim of the country’s notorious security police. 

The black people, at that time, called on the authorities to institute urgent investigations to apprehend the murderers. But now, more than five months after the brutal murder, no positive effort has been made to uncover the mystery behind the killing. The Minister of Police, Mr Louis Le Grange, could only say that a murder docket was opened and the police were investigating. He reacted after the Washington-based American Lawyers for Civil Rights contacted Mr Le Grange and asked for a detailed report on the investigation and the circumstances of Mr Mxenge’s death. 

Mrs Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge, wife of the assassinated attorney, told the Press Trust News Agency that she was concerned over the progress of the investigation into her husband’s murder. She said she was basing her concerns on the fact that the police had only asked her for a statement three months after the brutal murder. 


Durban advocate Mr Pius Langa, who was the last person to see him alive on the night of November 19, said he was also disturbed at the slow progress because he had not yet been asked for a statement. Referring to the Minister’s statement that the police were investigating, Mr Langa said: “It is an understatement to say that the investigation is incomplete because we believe it has hardly begun. The police have not yet asked me for a statement.” The chairman of the Release Mandela Committee, Mr Archie Gumede, said he was not surprised at the attitude of the authorities because Mr Mxenge was a strong opponent of the apartheid system and, therefore, was not their friend. Ends – April 19 1982 Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency 




GRIFFITH MXENGE – KILLERS NOT BROUGHT TO JUSTICE 

November 10 1982 


Nearly a year after the gruesome assassination of one South Africa’s most prominent political trials lawyers and former top member of the African National Congress (ANC), Mr Griffith Mxenge, the mystery of his death has not yet been solved. 

Mr Mxenge, aged 46 at the time of his untimely death, was brutally murdered on November 19 last year at a time when the political opposition against the racist Pretoria regime was gaining momentum. Using knives, the murderers were not just content to take away his life. 

But in unbridled savagery, they mutilated his body with more than 30 stab wounds, slashed off his left ear, punctured his nose, ripped his stomach and slit his throat. When news of his gruesome death spread throughout the country the black people and their progressive white friends immediately blamed a “hit squad” of the apartheid regime for his assassination. 

The delay and the shoddy manner in which the authorities went about setting up an inquest hearing also sparked suspicions that something was amiss. 

The inquest hearing, which is still in progress, has so far revealed that the police had failed: 

• To interview possible eye-witnesses who may have seen Mr Mxenge leaving Victoria Street in Durban where he was last seen alive by his friend and colleague, Advocate Pius Langa, at about 7pm on November 19 1981. Other people who saw him at that time included shop owners, people living in flats above the street and the security guard at Damjee Centre where Mr Mxenge had his law office;

 • To take a written statement from Mr Langa until April 5 (1982); 

• To see whether the number plates on Mr Mxenge’s car found burned out near Swaziland border had been changed;

 • To check the mileage on the car, which was almost new, when they found it; and • To speak to motorists who had gone through the nearby border post around the time Mr Mxenge’s car was found burning – at about mid-day on Monday, November 23 (1981). 

The shoddiness of the police investigation was also exposed by the advocate appearing for the Mxenge family when he said the man who found the body and a shirt Mr Mxenge was wearing had gone missing. When his widow, Mrs Victoria Mxenge, gave evidence she discounted stories put out by the authorities that her husband was killed by the ANC. 

She said she had received messages of condolences from the ANC, including a long telex message from its President, Mr Oliver Tambo. “My husband had no enemies,” she said, “except those people opposed to his political ideas and those who detested that he was involved in political cases and that he was a fighter for the underdog.”

 Born in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape in 1936 into a peasant family, Mr Mxenge joined the ANC since the mid-1950s when he was a student at the University of Fort Hare. He served three years on Robben Island prison after being found guilty of being a member of the ANC after it was banned in 1960. On completion of his sentence, he was placed under banning orders and, until he was assassinated in 1981, he had to contend with continual persecution at the hands of the security police. 

But this did not deter him from his role as a campaigner for human rights for all citizens in South Africa. 



As a lawyer he played his full part in defending many people charged under various laws by the Pretoria authorities. In addition to this role, he also participated in active politics outside the courts in the fight against apartheid. At the time of his senseless death, he was an executive member of the Release Mandela Campaign and also a leading member of the Anti-SAIC Committee, which had been established to ask the people of Indian-origin not to vote in the elections for the Indian Council last year. The Anti-SAIC campaign was a huge success with only about eight percent of those who had cared to register as voters actually cast their ballots. 

He also played a leading role in trying to get the bodies of the 11 South Africans who were killed by a Pretoria commando raid at an ANC refugee house in Matola in Mozambique. 

And when this failed, he did everything in his power to get the families of the dead men to travel to Maputo for the funeral. Although he was continually inundated with death threats, he did not pay much attention to them until an incident two days before his gruesome death. Two of his favourite pet dogs were found dead – probably poisoned – at his house in Umlazi. He felt uncomfortable about the incident and told his wife that he was not happy at all about it. And almost as if his discomfort about his dogs was a premonition about his own impending death, Mr Mxenge was found brutally butchered by unknown assassins. 

Now, almost a year after his death, the South African Police have not yet found the murderers – and all the signs are that they are not too keen to find them. Ends – November 10 1982 Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency.