Struggle Journalists - Rashid Seria, Mike Norton, Juby Mayet, Subry Govender and Phil Mthimkulu.)

(Security policemen of the former apartheid regime searching the desk of Subry Govender at the Daily News in Durban in the mid-1970s)

 

 

                   “COOLIE JOURNALIST”

 

Media release for launch of “Coolie Journalist” at the Umhlanga Apart-Hotel, 60 Meridian Drive, Umhlanga in Durban on Sunday, January 25 at 11am.

 

 

 

 

“Coolie Journalist”, the autobiography of veteran former South African “struggle” journalist, Marimuthu Subramoney (aka Subry Govender), is to be launched in Umhlanga in Durban later this month.

Govender, 79, has been in the profession for more than 50 years as a print and radio journalist, especially during the dark days of apartheid repression in the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

The book traces his formative years in the rural village of Ottawa, about 30km north of the city of Durban, where he worked in the sugar cane fields in his school boy days and then reaching great heights in the journalism profession.

He considered journalism not as an 8am to 5pm job but as a profession where journalists could play their roles in making a difference for the better in the lives of fellow citizens.

It was this commitment that led to him facing heavy harassment and intimidation at the hands of the security police of the former apartheid regime, detention, banning restrictions, the denial of a passport for more than 10 years, and the tragic loss of his son, five-month-old Vishen, in early 1980. The child passed on after Subry could not take him to hospital for urgent medical treatment because he was confined to his home during certain hours, in terms of his banning order by the apartheid regime.

Despite this tragedy, the book highlights the fact that journalism for him has been an eventful journey - from being a clerk in an insurance company in the 1960s, to being a freelance correspondent  in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a full-time journalist for the Durban Daily News newspaper between 1973 and 1980,  to being a radio correspondent, to a stint as a senior political correspondent for the public SABC broadcaster after freedom in 1994,  running local community newspapers, and being a correspondent for overseas print and electronic media outlets such as the BBC, Radio Deutsche Welle, Radio Netherlands and Radio France Internationale.

The book also highlights Subry’s struggles to launch a Durban weekly newspaper, Ukusa, with the help of prominent anti-apartheid leaders in the 1980s after he was banned and house arrested in December 1980. The banning order and the denial of a passport was imposed on Subry by the apartheid regime after he became one of the committed journalists who openly espoused the cause of freedom for the majority of the people of South Africa in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

The book, according to one of his former colleagues, Brijlall Ramguthee, is an ‘incisive read’ with many anecdotes about the struggles by journalists against the apartheid regime in the 1970s and 1980s. Ramguthie is one of three joiurnalist colleagues who have written forewords for the book. The others are Ms Fawzia Moodley and Mr Ravi Govender.

Ms Moodley writes that in our post-apartheid South Africa “where many of our youth are ignorant of the blood, sweat and tears of the hundreds of thousands of people who contributed to the liberation of this country, ‘Coolie Journalist’, makes an important contribution to our struggle history”.

“Simply told, it is a book that every school child should have access to, lest we forget that we owe our freedom to people of all races, classes and creeds. We all know of the role of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Albertina Sisulu and Winnie Mandela in fighting apartheid. Now we need to learn about the Subry Govenders’ of this country who played an equally important role by chipping away patiently at the Apartheid monolith until it was eventually destroyed in 1994.”

For Subry Govender himself the struggles for media freedom and for freedom in general, were not only struggles during the apartheid era but also during the new freedom and liberty after 1994.

In his conclusion in the book, Govender emphasises that “media freedom in our new democracy should not be tampered with because without freedom of speech and freedom of the media, democracy would not survive in the new South Africa”.

“This is the legacy that I would like to leave behind for aspiring journalists and for them to make a contribution to social, political and economic development by ensuring that as a journalist they make a difference for the better in the lives of the people and society.”

Subry Govender emphasises this by quoting freedom icon and first president of a new post-apartheid South Africa, Nelson Mandela, who repeated this famous principle when he addressed thousands of people in Cape Town after being released in February 1990. This is what he repeated:

“I have fought against White domination, and I have fought against Black domination. 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 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 launch of “Coolie Journalist” will take place at the Umhlanga Apart-Hotel, 60 Meridian Drive, Umhlanga in Durban at 11am. The details of the venue are found in this link:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/u9nYi7s93JL9v4br7?g_st=aw

Two veteran former editors and journalists, Mr Bridgelal Ramguthie, and Mr Nunda Subban, will be the main speakers at the launch. Mr Subban is also a prominent cartoonist, artist and founder of the Centre for Fine Art, Animation and Design (CFAD) in Durban.

Mr Ramguthie and Mr Subban are scores of former journalists who worked closely with Subry Govender during the “journalist struggle years”.

Ends – Jan 1 2026  subrygovender@gmail.com Cell: 082 376 9053 

VETERAN STRUGGLE JOURNALIST, SUBRY GOVENDER, DESCRIBED AS A “FEARLESS, COURAGEOUS AND UNCOMPROMISING” NEWS HOUND ON THE EVE OF THE LAUNCH OF GOVENDER’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY – “COOLIE JOURNALIST” ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25

 

 

VETERAN STRUGGLE JOURNALIST, SUBRY GOVENDER, DESCRIBED AS A “FEARLESS, COURAGEOUS AND UNCOMPROMISING” NEWS HOUND ON THE EVE OF THE LAUNCH OF  GOVENDER’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY – “COOLIE JOURNALIST” ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25

 

January 7 2026

 

With only a few weeks to go before veteran struggle journalist, Subry Govender, launches his autobiography, “Coolie Journalist”, on January 25, a prominent former political and social activist has paid tribute to Govender for being “a progressive and fearless” news hound.

Mr Siva Naidoo of Tongaat, who was a top official of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC), United Democratic Front (UDF), Activist Citizens Forum and other anti-apartheid organisations in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, wrote about Govender’s contributions to the freedom struggles through his work as a “struggle journalist” when praising Govender for the launch of “Coolie Journalist”.

He wrote that he wanted to add his voice “with conviction and pride” to congratulate Govender on the launch of his autobiography.

The launch will take place at the Umhlanga Apart-Hotel (60 Meridian Drive, Umhlanga) on January 25 at 11am. Former colleagues, comrades, friends and family members are gearing themselves to attend the launch.

In his support of the launch of “Coolie Journalist”, Mr Naidoo wrote that he “first encountered Subry around 1977, shortly after I was recruited into activist work”.

“From the outset, it was clear that Subry was not a journalist in the narrow, professionalised sense, but a political being with a moral compass.

“He understood — instinctively and intellectually — that journalism is never neutral in a society structured by injustice.  

“In times of oppression, silence and false balance serve power; truth serves the people.

“Subry was, and remains, a progressive struggle journalist in the truest sense of the word — fearless, courageous, and utterly uncompromising.”

Mr Naidoo wrote that as young activists confronting the brute force of apartheid, he and other anti-apartheid activists in general were “inspired by his reporting because it did more than inform; it exposed, challenged and mobilised”.

“His words chipped away at the legitimacy of an illegitimate system, one story at a time.

“He was well known to the NIC and UDF leadership, and later, after the unbanning of the ANC, to the political leadership of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa.

“This was not because he sought proximity to power, but because power knew it was being watched. That distinction matters — then and now.

“Today, South Africa faces a different but no less dangerous conundrum. Political freedom has not translated into social or economic justice.

“Corruption, state capture, patronage networks and the erosion of ethical leadership threaten to hollow out our hard-won democracy.”

Mr Naidoo added that in this context, “journalists who interrogated power rather than echo it, was not a luxury — they were essential to democratic survival.”

 

In this regard, he wrote that “Subry’s life reminds us that press freedom is not secured once and for all”.

“It must be defended constantly, especially when power becomes impatient with accountability and hostile to scrutiny.

“The banning order, and harassment Subry endured under apartheid were crude and overt.

“Today, repression is often subtler — through intimidation, co-option, economic pressure, political favour and the normalisation of mediocrity. Yet the intent remains the same: to mute critical voices.

 

“I recall Subry interviewing me at my home in Watsonia, Tongaat, during his time at the SABC, when I founded the Activist Citizens Forum. That interview symbolised what ethical journalism looks like: rooted in community struggle, alert to power dynamics, and committed to amplifying voices from below rather than sanitising narratives from above.

 

“Subry’s trust was earned, not assumed. His integrity was not situational. He never abandoned principle for access, nor traded truth for comfort. In an era where too many have crossed the line from journalism into public relations for the powerful, Subry stands as a rebuke.

 

“He continues to speak truth to power, not as an outsider throwing stones, but as a patriot who understands that loyalty to country means holding it to account. 

 

“That is why he remains respected across political generations — even when he is inconvenient.”

 

Mr Naidoo added that “Coolie Journalist” was, therefore, not merely a memoir.

“It is a warning and a call to action. It reminds us that democracy without a fearless, progressive media will inevitably decay. It urges a new generation of journalists to choose courage over compliance, ethics over expediency, and the people over power.

“Subry Govender is one of our unsung heroes — not because he sought recognition, but because he chose resistance when compliance was easier.

 

“The best way we can honour him is to read this book, to ensure that the lessons of the past inform our present struggles, and to recommit ourselves to defending media freedom as a non-negotiable pillar of democracy.

“His words remain as repellent to injustice today as they were when the chips were down in our beautiful country. And that is precisely why they matter — now more than ever.” Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com January 7 2026