The Rivonia Leadership in Lusaka

On 19 January 1990, a meeting of all African National Congress (ANC) members stationed in the Lusaka area was held in a hall in the Mulungushi Centre, wherein approximately 1 000 were in attendance. The meeting included representatives from the contingent of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadres who had been marooned in the Zambian capital for a number of years, and whose grievances Simon Makana and Steve Tshwete were warning of as far back as 1987–88. This meeting was a follow-up to a meeting of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) that took place in the same venue the previous day, where President Kaunda was also present.

On 15 January, three days before this meeting, a group of foreign diplomats, ANC leaders, including acting President Alfred Nzo, and senior government officials were waiting for an aeroplane, Zambia Airways flight ATR 42, to land at Lusaka airport. As the flight touched down at 16:00, former political prisoners, Andrew Mlangeni, Ahmed Kathrada, Elias Motsoaledi, Wilton Mkwayi, Raymond Mhlaba, Oscar Mpetha, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Harry Gwala stepped out. These veterans of MK and the ANC had been released the previous year by the De Klerk-led apartheid regime.

The dignitaries took cover from the rain in the airport terminal, leaving a resilient group of young ANC comrades on the tarmac, who kept on chanting: “Viva the South African Communist Party!” “Viva Umkhonto we Sizwe!” Among those in the terminal was MK Army Chief of Staff, Chris Hani, telling the reporters that “De Klerk has not done anything; this is our victory. And all forms of struggle now have got to be escalated”.

Following the NEC meeting, at the general ANC members meeting, on 19 January, the leadership that had been incarcerated inside the country was meeting for the first time with their counterparts and the general membership in exile. When Raymond Mhlaba walked on to the stage, the MK cadres began cheering loudly, some calling out to him as “Commander!” When the meeting was opened for questions, one of the cadres commented: “Please, we know there is work to be done inside the country, Comrade Mhlaba we need you out there because we don’t have a commander”.

Another asked if the leadership could explain why so many cadres were dying before they got into the country and there were other questions about problems in the Forward Areas and others about logistical failures. Then, somebody stood up, pointed to the platform, and said of the then existing leadership of the ANC External Mission, “If you leaders want to represent us, there is one thing to do, all of you, resign now,” upon which the hall erupted in cheers of approval.

From the stage, Harry Gwala joined the condemnatory chorus, saying that the MK that existed then was nothing compared to the old MK. According to Gwala, the then MK was politically bankrupt, as cadres were given military crash courses but they had no political perspective. For Gwala, the leadership was stopping young cadres who wanted to return to fight in South Africa. After Gwala spoke, the hall was engulfed in chants of “Forward to People’s War! War! War! War! War! War!”

This induced Joe Modise, the implied target of many of the attacks, to rise to defend himself. However, Walter Sisulu, visibly shocked by the turn of events, intervened by saying that the ANC will work towards negotiations while simultaneously intensifying the armed struggle to maintain pressure on the apartheid regime. Following Walter Sisulu’s contribution, the atmosphere in the room moderated somewhat.

Most MK cadres were furious with the intransigence of the leadership in exile by failing to send them to fight inside the country, despite their training and eagerness to prove themselves in the battlefield. Hence they did not miss this opportunity to raise their concerns with the internal leadership, which they believed were going to be more understanding of their grievances than the leaders in the External Mission.

Sibuya kude naloMzabalazo!

Castro Khwela
Good evening fellow Compatriots!