MERRY AND AUSPICIOUS 2020 DEEPAVALI/DIWALI

 

                                       

        

                                              

CELEBRATING LIGHT OVER DARKNESS BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF OUR LIVES IN THE LITTLE VILLAGE OF OTTAWA, NORTH OF DURBAN

I had an oil bath this morning.
Celebrating Deepavali or Diwali on November 14 (2020) at a time when we are also observing the 160^th anniversary of the arrival of our indentured ancestors from India brings to mind how we used to look forward to the “Festival of Lights” in our early days in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
At that time, we used to live in the little village of Ottawa, which was situated about 25km north of Durban. The neighbouring town to the north was Verulam and to the south was the sugar mill town of Mount Edgecombe.

Ottawa was inhabited at this time mainly by Hindi and Tamil-speaking Hindus; about five Muslim families whose roots were Uttar Pradesh, Gujerat and Tamil Nadu; and Tamil-speaking Christians. Except for a few Muslim families, the residents were descendants of indentured labourers who worked in the neighbouring sugar estates of Ottawa, Blackburn and Mount Edgecombe. Most of the families were Hindi-speaking who had their roots to the state of Bihar in north India.
Our parents, mother Salatchie and father, Subramoney, and the children – four brothers and three sisters – used to occupy a wood and iron home in Munn Road, off School Road, in an area we used to refer to as Tin Town. This was our identity because all the houses in our area of the village were built only of wood and iron.

                                      

There were two other areas that we referred to as Central – where Mr Latiff and his family owned their shops; Uplands.

The third and fourth generation descendants of many of the pioneer families still live in this heritage village of ours.

Our parents were working class – my father worked as a laundryman at Lever Brothers at the Maydon Wharf in Durban and my mother, a machinist at the local Flash Clothing factory owned by Mr S S Maharaj, a former South African tennis champion.
Although our parents were barely making ends meet in order to feed and clothe their large family,  they used to ensure that for Deepavali, all the children had new clothes, there was sufficient food and eats, and fireworks for the evening.
We used to share our Deepvali eats with our neighbours in the area. I recall the names of Bainya aunty family (Gokool and Manaya’s mother);  Sookaya and Johnny family, who lived across the road; and Narain Naicker uncle family; and Jack Naidoo family.
It was a day when we used to get up very early and my mother ensured that we had an oil bath in our bathroom, which was a discarded water tank. A day earlier we used to fetch the water from the river nearby in tins that we carried on a banga.
After taking our baths, we were given our new clothes to wear and then our first Deepavali meal.

LANGUAGE OR RELIGION WAS NOT A BARRIER

Thereafter we used to visit our neighbours nearby and exchange whatever goodies we could share. I remember the whole village residents – whether Hindus, Muslims or Christians – used to participate in the celebrations like one BIG FAMILY. We never thought of ourselves as belonging to different languages or religious groupings. I recall some of the young Muslim and Christian children asking their parents to purchase new clothes for them during Deepavali/Diwali because their friends would be wearing new clothes.
We used to look forward to the evenings.  After our meals – the Tamils had meat and the Hindi-speaking neighbours had vegetables – we would start bursting fireworks. The best was the small crackers but big bangs as well. At that time no one complained about the noise from the big bangs.
This tradition of exchanging of meals and other goodies on Deepavali/Diwali continued for many decades. The culture only began to change once the younger generations used to move out of the village, after either completing their matriculations and higher studies, tied the knots or left in search of a higher material life for themselves and their parents.
Now this tradition of all people celebrating Deepavali – whether Hindus, Muslims or Christians – seems to have been lost. The neighbourliness is also no longer there, unless of course you are a resident in close-knit communities in Chatsworth, Phoenix and other areas.
Nevertheless, we must continue to inculcate in our children and grand-children that Deepavali or Diwali is a day of celebration by all humanity and not just restricted to any particular section of the community.

              BE GOOD AND DO GOOD     

We were taught that Deepavali is the celebration of Light over darkness and sharing of whatever little food or clothing we have with the less fortunate and the marginalised. We were told our culture should be: BE GOOD AND DO GOOD.
It is, therefore, our responsibility in the new material world that we  generate this Light over darkness in our daily lives.
We should never forget our roots or else our grand-children and future generations would be lost in this new materialistic world.  ends - subrygovender@gmail.com Nov 14 2020

 

JOSEPH ZENZELE MAVI – RECALLING THE LIFE OF A TRADE UNION LEADER WHO DIED TRAGICALLY IN A ROAD ACCIDENT IN 1982 AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 44

 

                                           (Courtesy SA Institute of Race Relations - 1981)

                   (THE DAYS OF THE STRUGGLE BY WORKERS IN 1980)

 

One of the trade union leaders who played a major role in mobilising and highlighting the plight of workers in the 1970s and early 1980s was Jospeh Zenzele Mavi.
He died tragically in a motor accident in June 1982 at the young age of 44 while he and some colleagues were returning home to Johannesburg after attending to union work in Port Elizabeth.  Soon after his tragic death, the Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency published an article about his life and work on June 14 1981.
The article, “Tragic death of black trade union leader, Joseph Mavi”, brought to light the immense contribution that Mavi had made for the freedom of ordinary workers.
 

 

 

 
TRAGIC DEATH OF BLACK TRADE UNION LEADER – JOSEPH MAVI

June 14 1982

 

The recent tragic death of one of South Africa’s most prominent black trade unionists, Mr Joseph Mavi, has left a huge void in the independent trade union movement that will be difficult to fill.
Mr Mavi, the 44-year-old president of the Black Municipality Workers Union, died in a motor accident on Wednesday, June 9, while on his way home in Johannesburg after completing union work in Port Elizabeth.
A spokesperson for his union told the independent Press Trust of South Africa news agency that Mr Mavi died instantly when the car in which he was travelling overturned in the province of the Orange Free State. Two other colleagues with him were slightly injured.
Although there are no exact details as to how the accident occurred, it is understood the driver of the vehicle fell asleep at the wheel. Reports from the scene say there are large rubber marks on the road which indicated that the car could have skidded off the road.
Mr Mavi, a soft-spoken person and gentle in character, first rose to prominence only in early 1980 when he led more than 10 000 black municipal workers against the decision by the all-white Johannesburg City Council not to recognise their trade union.
Ironically, the clash  between the union and the city council had its origins in the conservative confines of the Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA) – the white-dominated union federation that toes the Pretoria Government line.
At that time Mr Mavi, a bus driver, was the leader of the African Transport Workers Union which was a “parallel union” for Africans only in terms of TUCSA’s constitution.
But the parting of the ways with the TUCSA began when the white general secretary of TUCSA, Mr Arthur Grobelaar, prevented Mr Mavi from voting on a motion that condemned the Pretoria Government’s track record on human rights.
This action greatly frustrated him and he immediately set about organising a black trade union independent of TUCSA.
His final break from TUCSA occurred in 1980 when the white-dominated federation fully supported the Johannesburg City Council in the establishment of an “house union” in preference to the fledgeling union started by Mr Mavi.
Mr Mavi vigorously opposed the new union, claiming that as an “in house union” it was not representative of the majority of the black municipal workers. He withdrew his union from TUCSA immediately after publicly stating that TUCSA, by supporting the council’s “in house union”, did not have the interests of the workers at heart.

BLACK MUNICIPALITY WORKERS UNION

He then formally established the Black Municipality Workers Union and in no time had more than 10 000 members on the books of the union.
In contrast, the “house union” only had 140 members.
On the strength of this fact he appealed to the white city council to recognise his union. But the city council turned down his request with contempt and issued an official statement, saying it would only recognise the “house union”.
When the council’s refusal became known, hundreds of workers at the Orlando Power station took the first steps in downing tools – an action that was to develop into one of the biggest strikes in the history of South Africa against a single employer. At the end of the first two days, 10 000 workers were officially out on strike.
The success of the strike was primarily due to the untiring work of Mr Mavi. He was reported to have awakened everyday at about 3:30am and, with an handkerchief in one hand, walked the length and breadth of the compounds and single-sex hostels urging workers to join the strike.

                   JACK BOOT POLICE

But the jack-boot South African police moved in, with the tacit support of the city council, and began breaking up the strike. Within a week they rounded up hundreds of “migrant workers” and forcibly shipped them back to the bantustans. Those who resisted the police were baton-charged, arrested and thrown into jails.
During this period of police action, Mr Mavi went underground to continue with his leadership. He donned a miner’s uniform and met his executive at the most inconvenient places. It is understood that meetings were sometimes held in a central park in Johannesburg in full view of hundreds of passers-by.

In order to prevent the forced “bussing” of his members to the bantustans, he applied to the Rand Supreme Court in Johannesburg for an injunction against the action. But while making a personal application with his attorneys, he was detained in the corridors of the Supreme Court and held under the country’s security laws.

         

DETAINED AND CHARGED WITH SABOTAGE

After being detained for more than five months, he was released and subsequently charged with sabotage. But, after nearly a year, the charges were dropped and Mr Mavi returned to his trade union work.
In addition to his union activities, he also held the centre stage in community politics. During the Anti-Republic campaigns he addressed a number of meetings and earned the wrath of the security police.
He was detained for about three months and held in solitary confinement. He was released on compassionate grounds after the death of his one-month-old daughter.
In recent times he devoted most of his time in organising his union and its membership and it was during his travels on union work that he met his untimely death.

               SECURITY POLICE AT HIS FUNERAL

But even in death the South African security police would noy leave him in peace. When thousands of mourners attended his funeral and two members of the African National Congress in Johannesburg, the security police arrested about 200 people and disturbed the service.

Mr Mavi had come a long way from a little village in the former Transkei in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa where he was born in 1938. He moved to Johannesburg as a migrant worker after completing his matriculation. Here in Johannesburg he held a number of jobs that encouraged him to move into trade union and political activism in 1970. Ends – Press Trust of SA News Agency June 14 1982

JACOB ZUMA AND THE MEDIA IN 2004

 

In October 2020 at a time when we observed the 43^rd year of the oppressive actions taken against the media on October 19 1977 by the former apartheid regime, it has become necessary to recall the tribute paid to struggle journalists by the new democratic government 16 years ago.
This acknowledgement was made on February 26 2004 by none other than Jacob Zuma, who served as Deputy President under President Thabo Mbeki at that time.
Mr Zuma made the tribute to struggle journalists when addressing the Cape Town Press Club in the city on the 10^th anniversary of South Africa attaining freedom and democracy in 1994.

                 CAPE TOWN PRESS CLUB

In his address, Mr Zuma acknowledged that journalists in South Africa made an outstanding contribution in bringing about freedom and democracy in the country.
There were many journalists, he said, who defied the apartheid government’s internal security and censorship laws “to tell the truth and expose the evils of apartheid”.
He said: “I mention this because this important historical fact is not always highlighted when the apartheid story is told.

                   STRUGGLE JOURNALISTS

"We cannot, due to the limited time, mention all these outstanding men and women. We can note for example the contribution of the ‘Drum’ generation during the 1960s, such as Can Themba, Nat Nakasa, Henry Nxumalo, Casey Motsisi and others.
“We also acknowledge the courage of the generation that followed, from the 1970s onwards, such as Sophie Tema, Percy Qoboza, Sam Nzima, Peter Magubane, Jacques Paw, Tony Heard, Mono Badela, Subry Govender, Thami Mazwai, Don Mattera, Allister Sparks, Joe Thloloe, Jon Qwelane and many others.
“The dedication to freedom and democracy led others to establish alternative newspapers during the 80s, such as Anton Harber and colleagues with the Weekly Mail; Guy Berger, Rashid Seria and colleagues with South; Zwelakhe Sisulu with New Nation; Max du Preez with Vrye Weeblad as well as the founders of the New African newspaper; Saamstaan, Work In Progress and other progressive community publications.”
Mr Zuma went on to say that there was also the generation of journalists who bravely reported on the intense repression of the 1980s, including covering the conflicts engineered by the apartheid security structures in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gaunteng, Free State and other areas."

JOURNALISTS NOW HAVE NO FEAR OF EXECUTING THEIR JOBS

Mr Zuma then went onto say the new democracy attained in 1994 guaranteed media freedom that was enshrined in the country’s new democratic constitution.
He said: “Journalists are now able to exercise their right to freedom of expression without hindrance or fear.”
Mr Zuma was, however, of the view that full story of the free South Africa was yet to be told, especially from the perspective of the majority of South Africans.
“We hope that the 10^th year celebrations will encourage the media to honestly reflect on the achievements of the past 10 years – how we moved from the brink of civil war and total destruction, to peace, harmony and stability.
“Once again, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to share some thoughts on our activities with the Cape Town Press Club.
“I look forward to a continued fruitful relationship and engagement between ourselves as government and the media, in the next decade of freedom.”

        NEW SOUTH AFRICA - A MIRACLE

Earlier in his speech to the Cape Town Press Club, Mr Zuma spoke about the “miracle” of achieving freedom in South Africa and the socio-economic progress and development that had been promoted since April 1994.
“Many people locally and internationally,” he said, “call our transition to democracy a miracle”.
“Others call us a global project. They say so because it was unthinkable before 1994, that the transition from apartheid to a non-racial and democratic society would happen at all, or occur as smoothly as it did.
“The 10^th year anniversary celebrations provide us with a wonderful opportunity to come to terms with this outstanding achievement.
“What we must celebrate most of all, is the peace and reconciliation that we achieved.
“This was, no doubt, made possible by the fact that the seeds for reconciliation had been sown earlier, as the struggle against apartheid was primarily a non-racial struggle, as clearly espoused in the Freedom Charter.
“Reconciliation was the core principle during the multiparty negotiations. It was expressed in practical terms in the inclusive nature of the negotiation process, which allowed the representation of all political parties, irrespective of their size or beliefs.
“It was further reflected in the manner in which the Interim Constitution was crafted, particularly with regard to the constitutional imperative to establish a Government of National Unity. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission further enhanced the route towards reconciliation and closure.
“We believe that the 10-year celebrations also provide an opportunity to formally applaud the graciousness of the millions who were ready to move on and forgive those who had caused them pain and suffering over generations.
“We must also recognise those who have acknowledged that they may have, by omission or commission, contributed to the suffering of the majority during the period of apartheid rule.”

IMPROVING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE

Mr Zuma added that when the ANC came into power in 1994, they had immediately embarked on the path to improving the lives of the people.
“We are also using this period to review the progress we have made in governance. When we moved into government in 1994, we hit the ground running. People expected an immediate improvement in the quality of their lives. To be able to deliver on expectations, we had to urgently transform government, and fundamentally change the thinking, focus and the manner in which things were done.
“The indicators point to steady progress across all sectors over the last 10 years. Millions of people have gained access to services of which they were deprived under apartheid, and macro-economic stability has been achieved.
“Our country has gained recognition and respect internationally, and we have also been actively involved in the drive to rebuild our continent. The active continental involvement is informed by the belief that South Africa cannot be an island of peace and development in the midst of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa.

                 

                                      

“A further consolidation of democracy will take place in April this year during the third general election. All systems are in place to ensure everything goes well, from a security and political level, and we do not anticipate any large-scale disturbances.”

All these were noble words on the 10^th year of a non-racial democracy in South Africa. But, unfortunately, 16 years after this observation, the socio-economic situation in the country has taken a dramatic slide and many former activists now feel that the ANC is no longer the organisation they had fought and sacrificed their lives for. Politicians promoting racism to boost their profiles; millions of people are still on the margins of society; common and violent crime has forced ordinary law-abiding citizens to live in a state of siege in their own homes; and a better life for all people is still a dream for the majority. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Nov 4 2020

SAM KIKINE - A TRADE UNION LEADER WHO WAS IN THE FRONT LINE FOR FREEDOM DESPITE THE HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION AT THE HANDS OF THE DREADED APARTHEID SECURITY POLICE

 

         

 

At the end of November 2018, I had the opportunity of running into veteran trade union, social and community activist and leader, Sam Kikine, at the Durban City Hall in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Sam Kikine, 71, and I had joined scores of other former activists at a memorial service for human rights activist, Paddy Kearney, who died suddenly at the age of 76 on Friday, November 23.
Our meeting brought back memories of our interactions when I worked for the Daily News between 1973 and 1980, for the Press Trust of SA News Agency between 1983 and 1994 and between 1994 and 2009 when I was a senior political correspondent for the SABC.
Sam Kikine was one of the founding members of the South African Allied Workers Union (SAAWU) in the 1970s and he used to occupy an office in a building in the former Victoria Street (now Bertha Mkhize Street) area of Durban.
In the 1980s, in addition to his trade union activities, he became involved with the United Democratic Front (UDF) and other progressive organisations in the struggles for a non-racial and democratic South Africa.
In 1984 he was one of 16 anti-apartheid leaders and activists charged with High Treason at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. They were Mewa Ramgobin, M J Naidoo, Archie Gumede, Paul Devadas David, George Sewpersadh, Albertina Sisulu, Essop Jassat, Aubrey Mokoena, Curtis Nkondo, Ebrahim Salojee, Ismail Mahomed, Thozamile Gqweta, Frank Chikane, and Isaac Ngcobo.
But after nearly two years, all 16 were found not guilty and discharged.
In 1982 the Press Trust of SA News Agency published an article on Sam Kikine about the harassment and intimidation that he faced at the hands of the apartheid authorities.
The article was published under the headline: “The strange case of Sam Kikine” on August 13 1982 and distributed around the world.

This is the article:

 

           

             THE STRANGE CASE OF SAM KIKINE

August 13 1982

 

Mr Sam Kikine, a leading black South African trade unionist, is a person who is not easily ruffled by the problems he encounters in the course of his work but a current court action against him under the country’s Terrorism Act leaves him dumfounded.
Mr Kikine, the 33-year-old secretary general of the 95 000-strong South African Allied Workers Union(SAAWU), has already appeared four times in a Durban magistrates’ court but the authorities have not yet specified the charges against him.
He is out on bail of R500 – the first time that a Terrorism Act accused has been allowed bail while the authorities frame charges.
Mr Kikine, who is based in the Durban office of SAAWU, was first brought to court with two other senior SAAWU officials in Johannesburg on June 28 (1982) after being held in detention without trial for eight months.
He was detained on November 27 1981 in Durban – two days after he played a leading role in organising the funeral of Durban political trials lawyer, Griffith Mxenge, who was brutally slain by people believed to be members of the apartheid security police.
Mr Kikine, who is a popular personality in the black community in Durban, was first held under the General Laws Amendment Act which allows the authorities to detain a person incommunicado for 14 days. He was later held under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act.

              (The writer, Subry Govender, with Mr Sam Kikine in November 2018)

At the same time the president of SAAWU, Mr Thozamile Gqueta, was also admitted for psychiatric treatment at a Johannesburg hospital. Sometime after Mr Gqueta’s discharge from hospital, Mr Kikine was taken to Johannesburg where on June 28 1982 he was charged with Mr Gqweta and another senior official, Mr Sisa Njikelane, in connection with charges under the Terrorism Act.
Details of their charges were not disclosed by the authorities.
Mr Kikine was told that he would be transferred to Durban for trial while his colleagues would be transferred to Grahamstown. But 30 minutes later he was taken back to court and told that the charges against him had been withdrawn.
However, he was immediately re-detained and taken to Durban under police escort.

              CHARGED WITH TERRORISM

On June 29 (1982) he appeared in a Durban magistrates’ court and told that he was facing charges in connection with the Terrorism Act but no specific charges were preferred against him.
He was taken into security police custody once again and the authorities stated that he was being held under a section of the Internal Security Act that did allow for bail.
But his lawyers made a successful bail application and on July 13 he was released on R500 bail.
Since then he has appeared twice in court but no specific charges were put to him.
Because Mr Kikine is facing trial, he declined to grant the Press Trust of South Africa an interview for fear of breaking the sub-judice rule.

"DON'T YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SECURITY POLICE IN CAPE TOWN"

His record so far, however, shows that he, like his fellow SAAWU officials, has been a constant victim of harassment and psychological intimidation. Late in 1981, about twelve days before he was detained, he claimed that his telephone was being tampered with almost daily and that his offices had been broken into.
During one of his telephone calls, a third person coughed on the phone and when Mr Kikine asked who was there, a man replied:
“Don’t you know Sam? This is the security police, Cape Town.”
And on another occasion, someone telephoned him and said that there was a bomb in the building his union occupied in Durban’s Victoria Street (now Bertha Mkhize).
Not unexpectedly , the authorities and the security police denied any knowledge of the telephone interference and said they were not responsible. Many observers in South Africa are not surprised at Mr Kikine’s harassment because “intimidation and harassment” is part of the life of all people engaged in the struggles for a just society in South Africa.
But, they are, however, baffled at the actions which the authorities have brought against him.

One observer said that normally when a person was charged under the Terrorism Act, he was held in solitary confinement until the end of the trial.

“But in Mr Kikine’s case it seems the authorities have nothing against him and they are just trying to make his life intolerable,” said the observer. Ends – Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency  August 13 1982

DR MANAS BUTHELEZI – A CLERIC AND RELIGIOUS LEADER WHO ESPOUSED BLACK THEOLOGY

 
One of the religious leaders who also played a leading role alongside other activists in the struggles for freedom and human rights in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s was Bishop Manas Buthelezi of the Lutheran Church.
He died at the age of 81 in April 2016 while he was on retirement in his home village of Mahlabathini in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
In addition to being a leader in the Lutheran Church, Bishop Buthelezi also served as president of the South African Council of Churches, a leader of the World Council of Churches, and an activist who promoted Black Theology.
He was a first cousin of the former leader of the KwaZulu homeland and the Inkatha Freedom Party, Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

                                

In June 1983 when he was elected President of the South African Council of Churches, the Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency published an article on his life and work. The article, “Bishop Manas Buthelezi – the Black leader who espouses Black Theology is now head of the South African Council of Churches”, was circulated around the world.
The article is being re-published below on October 31 2020.

 
BISHOP MANAS BUTHELEZI – RELIGIOUS LEADER WHO ESPOUSED BLACK THEOLOGY

 

It has been a long trek from the early days of being a teacher in a rural school in the province of Natal in South Africa to the powerful position of President of the anti-apartheid South African Council of Churches (SACC).
But for the newly-elected head of the SACC, Bishop Manas Buthelezi, his climb up the “religious-political” ladder has shown his fortitude and resilience in the face of strident government action against all clerics who concern themselves with the socio-economic-political situation in the country.

                                           MAHLABATHINI BOY

Bishop Buthelezi was born 48-years-ago in the tiny tribal village of Mahlabathini in Zululand where his first cousin, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who is the leader of the KwaZulu homeland, was also born.
After completing his schooling at a mission school in Marianhill, just outside the city of Durban, Bishop Buthelezi entered a teachers’ training college.
After graduating he taught in a rural school at a rural school but barely a year after entering the teaching profession he decided to become a lay minister.
He began his theological studies at the world famous Lutheran Theological Seminary in Natal in the early 1960s and two years later he continued his studies at Yale University in the United States. That was when the Bishop attracted the first of many headlines in the newspapers.
At the time of his departure, a daily newspaper recorded this by publishing the headline: “Zulu flies to study at Yale.”
After receiving his degree at Yale, Bishop Buthelezi moved to Drew University where he obtained his PHD in theology.
At this time the call of home was stronger than the rigid academic classrooms and he returned to South Africa to teach theology at the seminary in Natal.
While he rejected the tribal affiliation, his cousin, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, moved into the sphere of Bantustan politics and soon became leader of the KwaZulu bantustan.

STRONG PROPONENT OF A NON-RACIAL AND DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY

Bishop Buthelezi adopted a strong progressive stance in his contributions to the cause of a non-racial and democratic South Africa.
His campaigns took on greater emphasis when in the early 1970s he was nominated the Natal Director of the now banned Christian Institute, started by the restricted and banned Dr Beyers Naude.
This new portfolio brought him into constant clashes with the Pretoria authorities.
In 1973 he was served with a five-year banning order, but this was lifted after six months following strong condemnation by the United States and a number of European countries, especially Germany.
It was during this period that he successfully sued a Government-sponsored publication, To the Point, which agreed with the banning order imposed on him. He was awarded R13 500 in damages.
In 1975 he was appointed the general secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Johannesburg and also held important positions in the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism and the Lutheran World Federation.

                 BLACK PARENTS ASSOCIATION

When the school children of Soweto revolted against the inferior educational system in June 1976, Bishop Buthelezi played an invaluable role as chairman of the Black Parents’ Association.
Throughout his association with black theology and its spread among young clerics, Bishop Buthelezi has been hounded by the South African security police.
And now with his new position he is bound to come under further and closer scrutiny.

                 

                     SACC MUST BE SUPPORTED

                       

But he is not worried. In an interview he told the PTSA News Agency:
“I expect surveillance from the security apparatus of the Pretoria Government. But they will not intimidate me. The functions and programmes of the SACC will go on because I believe South Africa needs the SACC.

“Whatever is happening to it now is a challenge to everybody to uphold the SACC and the ideals for which it stands – a free, non-racial and democratic society in South Africa.” – ends June 28 1983 (Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency)   

DR ABU BAKER ASVAT – A BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS ACTIVIST WHO WAS SHOT DEAD IN JANUARY 1989 UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

 

                                                 

 DR ABU BAKER ASVAT

                                                              
One of South Africa’s prominent black consciousness activists, who was murdered under mysterious circumstances inside his surgery in Soweto on January 27 1989, left a great impact on the country’s political development. 

Dr Abu Baker Asvat, known as the “people’s doctor”, was only 46-years-old when two hired hitmen entered his surgery on the pretext of seeking medical attention. 

One of the men fired two shots, killing Dr Asvat instantly in front of his nurse, Mrs Albertina Sisulu, who was the wife of the jailed leader of the ANC, Walter Sisulu, at that time. 
Dr Asvat, although a black consciousness activist who was in the forefront of the establishment of the Azanian Peoples’ Organisation (AZAPO), enlisted Mrs Sisulu as his nurse at a time when she was facing serious harassment at the hands of the apartheid security police. 
He did not allow political differences to interfere with his humanitarian work and care for all people. He went out of his way to ensure that Mrs Sisulu was taken care of and that she had sufficient time to visit her husband regularly on Robben Island prison. 

          "MY SON DIED IN MY HANDS" - MRS ALBERTINA SISULU

When Dr Asvat’s family rushed to the surgery after he was shot, Mrs Sisulu looked at the grieving family members and cried: “My son died in my hands”. Dr Asvat was also a personal physician to Mrs Winnie Mandela, who lived nearby his surgery. 

                                   THE SON OF AN INDIAN SHOP-KEEPER 

The son of a shop-keeper, who had travelled to the then Transvaal province from the state of Gujerat in India in the early 1900s, Dr Asvat studied medicine in the former East and West Pakistan (now Bangladesh and Pakistan). 
After he returned to South Africa in the late 1960s, Dr Asvat set up a surgery in an informal settlement known as Mochoeneng in Soweto. He became very close to the residents and was well-known to every single family of the settlement. 

               BECAME INVOLVED IN BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE 1970s

While practising here in the 1970s and early 1980s, he became active in the black consciousness movement and helped in the formation of Azapo. Later he took charge of Azapo’s health programme and travelled around the country to help the rural people with their medical requirements. 
It was because of this close association with the residents that the apartheid authorities started to make life difficult for him by taking steps to evict from the area. 

     DR ASVAT WAS PRESIDENT OF THE NON-RACIAL TRANSVAAL CRICKET BOARD  

Dr Asvat, who was popularly known as Hurley, was also a keen cricketer and helped to promote non-racial cricket as a counter to the all-white South African Cricket Association. He helped to start the Transvaal Cricket Board and was its chairperson until 1980. The Transvaal Cricket Board was affiliated to the non-racial South African Cricket Board of Control (SACBOC). 
 It’s now 31 years since he was murdered on January 27 1989. 
Although his killing was investigated and heard by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), that was established after the advent of our new South Africa in 1994, there seems to have been no justice in finding the real truth behind his thoughtless murder. 
Six years earlier in 1983, the Press Trust of South Africa News Agency published an article about Dr Asvat facing the eviction orders and his efforts to continue to serve the local people of Soweto. The article was published under the headline: “Community Doctor Under Eviction Orders” on August 9 1983. This was the article that was published and circulated around the world. 

                                            

                    COMMUNITY DOCTOR UNDER EVICTION ORDERS 

August 9 1983 A tiny shack settlement in the giant dormitory township of Soweto, near Johannesburg, in South Africa has been plunged into a crisis following the Pretoria Government’s Department of African Affairs decision to expel an Indian medical doctor and the settlement’s close friend, Dr Abu Baker Asvat. 
The wrangle over Dr Asvat’s presence at the Mochoeneng shack settlement in the heart of Soweto began when he received a letter from the authorities on September 13 1982. The letter informed Dr Asvat that the authorities intended shifting all the people from the area as part of a new planning programme. However, he was told to remain at his surgery until such time that the township manager had organised alternative accommodation for his practice. 
With high hopes of staying with his close-knit community, Dr Asvat settled down to minister to his people’s needs – a job he has faithfully performed for the past 10 years. But Dr Asvat’s hopes of staying on with his community were shattered a few days later when he received a vacation order from the township manager and the superintendent of the area. Attached to the vacation order was a deadline – either be out of Mochoeneng by 1 August 1983 or face being physically evicted by armed police and officials through a court order. 

                 AZAPO'S HEAD OF MEDICAL SECRETARIAT

But this unilateral action on the part of the authorities only infuriated the man who was recently elected head of the medical secretariat of the Azanian Peoples’ Organisation (AZAPO). “I will sit out the deadline. If they are determined they will use a court order and break my doors and windows and throw out my belongings onto the street,” Dr Asvat told the Press Trust of SA News Agency in an interview. Speaking about his ties with the small community, Dr Asvat said he had come to know every family in the settlement and they had also developed an extended family system. “We have all shared sorrows and happiness. To know people so closely happens once in a lifetime.” 

                 HE WAS MORE THAN A DOCTOR TO THE COMMUNITY

Dr Asvat’s patrons have also been shattered by the news that he was being forced to move out of the area. When approached for comment, Mrs Emily Mohloki, who has stayed in the area for 10 years, said Dr Asvat’s eviction order would hurt the community. 
“If he goes we are doomed. He has been more than a doctor to us. Whether we had money or not, he treated us. He often took critically ill patients to hospital by himself.” 

Dr Asvat is held in such high esteem by the community that when vandals broke into practice soon after Soweto erupted in protest in June 1976, local youngsters joined the vandals and took as much as they could from the surgery. When he re-opened the surgery the following day, a small army of youngsters carrying drugs and equipment – all the material taken from his surgery the night before – marched in and happily deposited his goods on the floor. Dr Asvat was the only doctor whose surgery escaped gutting by fire during the mass protests. Having a final word on the entire episode, Dr Asvat said the bond of brotherly relationship he has built up over the years would not be severed by the authorities. “I will always be at their beck and call, wherever they are or I will be,” a pained Dr Asvat said. 

This article was published by several Indian newspapers under the headlines: "Indian doctor expelled from Soweto"; "South African move to expel Indian doctor"; "Indian doctor's presence in Soweto creates crisis"; "Decision to expel Indian doctor sparks off crisis";  and"Vacation order". Ends – Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency August 9 1983

Tamil Love Song