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…
King Sobhuza II’s 80th Birthday Supported by Apartheid Security Forces
King Sobhuza II’s 80th Birthday Supported by Apartheid Security Forces On 22 July 1979, Prime Minister Maphevu Dlamini thanked the apartheid South African Military Training Team for the success of the twenty-one-gun salute following King Sobhuza’s 80th birthday celebrations on that day. This was a cualmination of a secret meeting held on 8 June 1979, between Dlamini and several apartheid South African Military Intelligence officers, wherein the concept of a “common enemy” was discussed. The…
MK Special Operations – ‘Operation Blackout’
MK Special Operations – ‘Operation Blackout’ 45 years ago, on 21 July 1981, six massive explosions detonated just before 02:00, in the early hours of the morning, at the Camden Power Station, near Ermelo, in the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga), destroying five transformers and five generator couplings, which ignited a day-long fire and plunging the town of Ermelo into darkness. Roughly 10 minutes later, nine distinct blasts followed at the Arnot Power Station, situated near…
PW Botha Declares a State of Emergency – Revisited
PW Botha Declares a State of Emergency – Revisited On 20 July 1985, at a press conference in Pretoria, apartheid President P.W. Botha claimed that “violence and lawlessness” in the townships had “increased and become more severe and more cruel”. According to Botha, such actions had taken the form of “incitement, intimidation, arson, inhuman forms of assault and even murder” and could “no longer be tolerated”. As a result, he then resolved to impose a…
Apartheid SADF Special Forces Executing Train Violence
Apartheid SADF Special Forces Executing Train Violence On 19 July 1991, 45 years ago, a bombshell interview published in the ‘New Nation’ newspaper officially implicated South African Special Forces units in orchestrating brutal, indiscriminate train violence against black commuters. Felix Isaias Ndimene, a former Sergeant in the Five Reconnaissance Regiment (5RR) – a highly secretive apartheid South African Defence Force (SADF) Special Forces unit – exposed the state’s hidden hand behind the massacres. Also involved,…
Nelson Mandela and the National Democratic Revolution
Nelson Mandela and the National Democratic Revolution The National Democratic Revolution (NDR) is the foundational ideological framework of the African National Congress (ANC) and its Tripartite Alliance partners, designed to transform South Africa from an apartheid state into a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society. Nelson Mandela served as both the strategic spearhead and the primary architect of this revolution, shifting it from a national mass struggle to armed resistance, and ultimately steering it into…
Eli Weinberg Passes On in Exile in Dar es Salaam
Eli Weinberg Passes On in Exile in Dar es Salaam Exactly 45 years ago, on 18 July 1981, Eli Weinberg passed on in exile in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eli Weinberg was a Latvian-born Jewish immigrant, prominent trade unionist, and foundational photo-documentarian who became a major figure in the South African liberation struggle. He is best remembered for using his camera as a strategic weapon to expose the brutality of apartheid to the world. Working…