The Motshabi Commission Report
The Motshabi Commission Report On 2 May 1975, the Motshabi Commission delivered an interim report on the condition of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) existing People’s Army abroad. The “Commission on the State of Affairs in Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in East Africa” was established by the ANC Revolutionary Council on 17 April 1975, with a mandate to investigate the causes of and possible remedies for the “deterioration of the standard of military life and…
Apartheid Convicts MK Commander James April
Apartheid Convicts MK Commander James April On Sunday, 30 May 1971 (exactly 50 years ago), Duma Nokwe was going through weekend newspaper reports on the conviction of James Edward April, who had on 6 May 1971 been charged under the Terrorism Act. April was convicted on the following counts: that during June 1961 and February of 1971, April – as a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) – was…
Challenges Over the Bechuanaland Route Into South Africa
Challenges Over the Bechuanaland Route Into South Africa Exactly sixty years ago, on 29 May 1966, Mack Futha, an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) operative, was deported to Zambia, which implied that his mission to establish a pipeline into South Africa through Bechuanaland was proven to be abortive. The day before, on 28 May 1966, Futha, was brought in for questioning in Francistown by a Bechuanaland Special Branch Officer, after he had survived arrest three days…
The Criticality of the Armed Struggle
The Criticality of the Armed Struggle On 28 May 1979, African National Congress (ANC) President Oliver Tambo delivered a presidential address to a sitting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Tanzania, outlining the state of the struggle. According to Tambo, some years back the NEC took a decision that the process of the intensification of the struggle inside the country required the leadership to begin to move closer to home. He then asked what…
Implementing the Kabwe Conference Resolutions: Operation Vula
Implementing the Kabwe Conference Resolutions: Operation Vula On 10 May 1986, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) convened to assess the implementation of the Kabwe Conference’s resolutions that senior members be sent into the country to provide leadership of the mass movement. Unfortunately, this was not the first follow-up since the conference, and again there was little progress to report on. In June 1985, during the 2nd National Consultative Conference…
Nkosazana Dlamini: The ANC is the Answer
Nkosazana Dlamini: The ANC is the Answer In March 1977, Nkosazana Dlamini, the Vice President of SASO (South African Students Organisation) and a member of the African National Congress (ANC) underground inside South Africa was interviewed by Sechaba, the official organ of the ANC of South Africa. When she escaped the country, Nkosazana was the only member of SASO’s executive not in detention. Dlamini was interviewed while she was representing the Movement in Amsterdam, in…
Bram Fischer: “What I Did Was Right”
Bram Fischer: “What I Did Was Right” Exactly sixty years ago, on 9 May 1966, Abram “Bram” Fischer was sentenced to life imprisonment for his political activities against apartheid and twenty-four years for being a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP). Bram had been arrested in 1964 for being a member of the illegal organisation, the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). He was later released on bail and in January 1965 he…