126-548: Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), he was Accused No.2 in the Rivonia Trial and was incarcerated on Robben Island where he served more than 25 years' imprisonment for his anti-Apartheid revolutionary activism. He had
252-400: A "remarkable putsch", which successfully installed several younger and more militant members onto the party's National Executive Committee – including Sisulu, who was elected ANC Secretary-General . The League also tabled a broad Programme of Action, which was notable for its explicit emphasis on African nationalism and mass mobilisation techniques. The culmination of this new strategy was
378-604: A Ghanaian Maoist group led by Leballo. APLA was destroyed by the Tanzanian military at Chunya on 11 March 1980 for refusing to accept the reformist-diplomatic leadership by Make. Leballo was influential in the South African 1985 student risings and pivotal in removing Leabua Jonathan's regime in Lesotho, the stress of which caused his death. The PAC never recovered from the 1980 massacre of Leballo's troops and his death and only won 1.2% of
504-799: A church vestibule, which led to the creation of the South African Students Organisation (SASO), under Biko, in 1969. The BCM was an umbrella organisation for groups such as SASO. It was created in 1967, and among its members were the Azanian People's Organisation , the black Community Programme (which directed welfare schemes for blacks), the Black People's Convention (BPC) and the South African Students Movement (SASM), which represented high-school learners. The BPC originally attempted to unite charitable associations like
630-719: A close partnership with Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela , with whom he played a key role in organising the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the establishment of the ANC Youth League and Umkhonto we Sizwe . He was also on the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party . Walter Sisulu was born in 1912 in the town of Ngcobo in the Union of South Africa , part of what is now the Eastern Cape province (then
756-675: A dozen others. In 1960, the ANC was banned in South Africa, and much of its leadership had been arrested, especially during the Treason Trial and later the Rivonia Trial . The ANC therefore set about re-establishing command structures in exile, from a new base in Tanzania. Leadership Members The NEC was appointed during the 1969 conference in Morogoro, Tanzania , the ANC's first in exile. The NEC
882-423: A drastic theory, much like socialism, as the liberation movement progressed to challenging class divisions and shifting from an ethnic stress to focusing more on non-racialism . The BCM became more worried about the destiny of the black people as workers and believed that "economic and political exploitation has reduced the black people into a class". With Black Consciousness increasing throughout black communities,
1008-532: A group of disenchanted ANC members broke away from the ANC and formed the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) in 1959. First on the PAC's agenda was a series of nationwide demonstrations against the pass laws . The PAC called for blacks to demonstrate against pass books on 21 March 1960. One of the mass demonstrations organised by the PAC took place at Sharpeville , a township near Vereeniging . The size of
1134-399: A journalist (born 1950, died 2012); Lindiwe (born 1954), also an ANC politician; and Nonkululeko (born 1958). They also adopted three children: two – Beryl , a diplomat, and Gerald Lockman – are biologically the children of Walter's deceased sister; while the third, Jongumzi, is the son of Sisulu's cousin. Jongi served a five-year sentence on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activism in
1260-404: A less consistent size, sometimes dropping below ten members. It was enlarged again, to 86 members, at the 52nd National Conference in 2007, which also introduced the gender parity requirement, and further enlarged again to its current size of 87 members at the 55th National Conference with the introduction of a 2nd Deputy Secretary-General. Another significant change has been the extension of
1386-426: A medium for its message. The BCM drew most of its backing from high schools and tertiary institutions. Black Consciousness ethics were crucial in lifting consciousness amongst black people of their value and right to a better existence, along with the need to insist on these. The BCM's non-violent approach subsided in favour of a more radical element as its resolve to attain liberty was met with state hostility. After
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#17330858734941512-483: A meeting of all commanders and commissars in Luanda , at which concerns included the intensification of internal struggle and co-ordination between the military and political aspects of struggle, with greater political control envisaged over MK activities and strategy. The full PMC met monthly, while its executive committee or "secretariat" met weekly. The 1983 restructuring also led to the establishment of other bodies under
1638-666: A more radical generation. During this epoch, new anti-apartheid ideas and establishments were created, and they gathered support from across South Africa. The surfacing of the South African Black Consciousness Movement was influenced by its American equivalent, the American Black Power movement, and directors like Malcolm X . African heads like Kenneth Kaunda suggested ideas of autonomy and Black Pride by means of their anti-colonialist writings. Scholars grew in assurance and became far more candid about
1764-559: A national front in politics, the United Democratic Front (UDF). Simultaneously, inter-factional rivalry between the ANC, the PAC and the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO), a third militant force, escalated into sectarian violence as the three groups fought for influence. The government took the opportunity to declare a state of emergency in 1986 and detain thousands of its political opponents without trial. Secret bilateral negotiations to end apartheid commenced in 1987 as
1890-538: A number of other organisations were formed to combat apartheid. In 1972, the Black People's Convention was founded, and the black Allied Worker's Union, formed in 1973, focused on black labour matters. The black community programmes gave attention to the more global issues of black communities. School learners began to confront the Bantu education policy, which was designed to prepare them to be second-class citizens. They created
2016-464: A plan for bringing exiles back into the country. It also revealed that MK was planning to use guerrilla warfare . The PAC's secretive martial arm was called Poqo, meaning "go it alone". It was prepared to take lives in the quest for liberation: it murdered whites, police informants and black people who supported the government. It sought to arrange a national revolution to conquer the white government, but poor organisation and in-house nuisances crippled
2142-411: A range of jobs, including as a bank teller, gold miner, domestic worker, and baker. He was fired from the bakery for trying to organise his co-workers. He founded Sitha Investments in 1939. It was situated at Barclay Arcade between West Street and Commissioner Street in the business district of Johannesburg . Its objective was to help black and Indian people buy houses. During its operations, Sitha
2268-550: A smaller National Working Committee (NWC), which implements NEC decisions and oversees the daily business of the ANC, including in the provincial branches and in Parliament. Some members are appointed full-time and have specific party responsibilities, while others hold other political offices. The NWC consists of: As in other ANC structures, at least half of the members must be women. Other ANC members may also be invited to attend or participate as non-voting members. The current NWC
2394-661: A surprise attack on the SADF base in Matola, Mozambique, killing 16 SADF soldiers and wounding more than 40. On 8 December 1982, ANC guerrillas attacked the South African embassy in Maseru, Lesotho, killing three people and injuring several others and on 14 November 1987, the ANC targeted the Vlakplaas police station in Pretoria with a car bomb, killing three police officers and injuring 18 others. Vlakplaas
2520-656: A violent overthrow of the state, and replacing it with a communist government. The charge was based on statements and speeches made during the Defiance Campaign and the Congress of the People. The Freedom Charter was used as proof of the Alliance's communist intent and their conspiracy to oust the government. The State greatly relied on the evidence of Professor Arthur Murray, an ostensible authority on Marxism and Communism. His evidence
2646-451: Is the man I need" – the man, that is, "for leading the African people". Sisulu encouraged Mandela to join the ANC, occasionally contributed to his law school tuition, and introduced him to his first wife, Evelyn Mase , who was Sisulu's maternal relative. In 1943, together with Mandela and Oliver Tambo , he joined the ANC Youth League , founded by Anton Lembede , of which Sisulu was initially
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#17330858734942772-480: The 1948 general election . From the early 1950s, the African National Congress (ANC) initiated its Defiance Campaign of passive resistance. Subsequent civil disobedience protests targeted curfews, pass laws , and "petty apartheid" segregation in public facilities. Some anti-apartheid demonstrations resulted in widespread rioting in Port Elizabeth and East London in 1952, but organised destruction of property
2898-505: The Freedom Charter – from a nearby rooftop, unable to attend the meeting because of the banning orders against them. By this time, Sisulu was active not only in the ANC but also, covertly, in the South African Communist Party (SACP). Paul Landau, a historian of the ANC, has argued that Sisulu and Mandela were the crucial forces, both intellectually and practically, behind the ANC's "turn to violence" (that is, to armed struggle against
3024-544: The Sharpeville massacre , some anti-apartheid movements, including the ANC and PAC, began a shift in tactics from peaceful non-cooperation to the formation of armed resistance wings. Mass strikes and student demonstrations continued into the 1970s, powered by growing black unemployment, the unpopularity of the South African Border War , and a newly assertive Black Consciousness Movement . The brutal suppression of
3150-635: The South African Defence Force . Further apartheid laws were abolished on 17 June 1991, and multiparty negotiations proceeded until the first multi-racial general election held in April 1994. Although its creation predated apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) became the primary force in opposition to the government after its moderate leadership was superseded by the organisation's more radical Youth League (ANCYL) in 1949. Led by Walter Sisulu , Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo , elected to
3276-909: The South African Indian Congress and the Coloured People's Congress, agreed on a plan for the defiance of unfair laws. They wrote to Prime Minister D. F. Malan and demanded that he repeal the Pass Laws, the Group Areas Act , the Bantu Administration Act and other legislation, warning that refusal to do so would be met with a campaign of defiance. Malan referred the Council to the Native Affairs Department and threatened to treat insolence callously. The Programme of Action
3402-537: The Soweto uprising . The government's effort at defeating all opposition had been effective. The State of Emergency was de-proclaimed, the economy boomed and the government began implementing apartheid by building the infrastructures of the ten separate Homelands and relocating blacks into these homelands. In 1966, Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd was stabbed to death in parliament, but his policies continued under B.J. Vorster and later P.W. Botha . Despite these developments,
3528-458: The Transkei ). As was not unusual for his generation in South Africa, he was uncertain of his birthday, but celebrated it on 18 May. His mother, Alice Mase Sisulu, was a Xhosa domestic worker and his father, Albert Victor Dickinson, was a white civil servant and magistrate . Dickinson did not play a part in his son's upbringing: Sisulu reportedly met him only once, in the 1940s, before he died in
3654-646: The United Democratic Front , who joined the ANC following its unbanning and return to South Africa. Four additional unelected members were coopted onto the NEC after 1994, to fill vacancies arising from resignations and deaths. Leadership Elected members Ex officio members * Members of the National Working Committee At the ANC's 50th National Conference in Mafikeng in December 1997, Thabo Mbeki
3780-468: The "Sobukwe clause", which permitted the state to detain people even after they had served their sentences. The PAC's management difficulties also existed in exile. When they were outlawed, PAC leaders set up headquarters in places like Dar es Salaam , London and the United States. In 1962, Potlako Leballo left the country for Maseru , Basutoland , and became the PAC's acting president. Soon after he
3906-428: The "Top Seven" leadership positions and up to 20 individuals for the other 80 NEC positions. Nominees must receive the support of 50% + 1 members present at the meeting, and at least half of the NEC nominees must be women – if necessary, the names of the lowest ranked male candidates must be removed until gender parity is achieved. The official branch nominations are consolidated at a provincial general council meeting, and
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4032-498: The 1952 Defiance Campaign of passive resistance . Sisulu was on the planning council for the campaign and was arrested for his participation. In December, he and other organisers, including ANC President James Moroka , were found guilty of "statutory communism" under the remarkably broad Suppression of Communism Act , but had their sentences – nine months' imprisonment with hard labour – suspended for two years. Sisulu, along with several others, formed part of an ANC delegation to
4158-613: The 1953 World Democratic Youth meeting in Bucharest, Romania ; before returning to South Africa, the group also travelled to Warsaw, Poland , to London, to Israel, and to the People's Republic of China , where Sisulu was part of a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party leadership. In 1955, Sisulu, Mandela, and Ahmed Kathrada watched the Congress of the People gathering – which adopted
4284-504: The 1970s. Sisulu and his sister, Rosabella, were raised by his mother's family, who were descended from the Thembu clan. He was close with his uncle, Dyantyi Hlakula, who was passionate about Xhosa culture and who oversaw his initiation . Although he was technically of mixed race , Sisulu identified strongly as black and as Xhosa. In his mid-teens, Sisulu left school – an Anglican mission school – to find work. In Johannesburg , he worked
4410-470: The 1976 Soweto uprising radicalised a generation of black activists and greatly bolstered the strength of the ANC's guerrilla force, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK). From 1976 to 1987 MK carried out a series of successful bomb attacks targeting government facilities, transportation lines, power stations, and other civil infrastructure. South Africa's military often retaliated by raiding ANC safe houses in neighbouring states. The NP made several attempts to reform
4536-501: The 1980s, and other family members were also periodically detained. In 2002, Max's wife, Elinor , published a biography of her parents-in-law, entitled Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime . In 1992, Sisulu was awarded Isitwalandwe Medal , the highest honour granted by the ANC, for his contribution to the liberation struggle in South Africa. The government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan in 1998. In 2004, Sisulu
4662-560: The 250 nominees who received the most nominations become the provincial nominees for the NEC. Gender parity remains a condition at the provincial level, and women nominees are upgraded on the list if necessary to meet it. The individuals who received the most nominations for the Top Seven positions become the provincial nominees for those positions. At the National Conference, the lists of provincial nominees are consolidated, along with
4788-583: The ANC and NIC increased and strengthened through the Defiance Campaign. Support for the ANC and its endeavours increased. On 15 August 1953, at the Cape ANC conference in Cradock, Professor Z. K. Matthews proposed a national convention of the people to study the national problems on an all-inclusive basis and outline a manifesto of amity. In March 1954, the ANC, the South African Indian Congress (SAIC),
4914-622: The ANC has a long history of valuing democratic centralism and collective leadership , and overt campaigning for internal leadership positions is frowned upon. This attitude is encapsulated, and promoted, in a discussion paper adopted by the National Working Committee in 2001 and reviewed in 2021, titled Through the Eye of a Needle?: Choosing the Best Cadres to Lead Transformation . The paper warns that "electoral processes" should not "tear
5040-527: The ANC to coordinate underground militant activity throughout South Africa. By the end of 1962 the ANC established an MK high command consisting of Mandela, Sisulu, Govan Mbeki , Raymond Mhlaba , and prominent South African Communist Party (SACP) activist Joe Slovo . Slovo and the SACP were instrumental in bolstering MK and developing its tactics for guerrilla warfare, inciting insurrection and urban sabotage. White SACP members such as Jack Hodgson, who had served in
5166-566: The ANC was able to launch several successful guerrilla attacks against the South African Defense Force from their locations in-hiding. For example, On 20 May 1983, the ANC detonated a car bomb outside the South African Air Force headquarters in Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring more than 200. The attack was one of the deadliest in the ANC's armed struggle against Apartheid. On 30 January 1981, ANC guerrillas launched
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5292-629: The ANC was unbanned and held a national consultative conference in Johannesburg – the first official meeting between exiles, underground members, and formerly imprisoned members – at which leaders who had not attended the Kabwe conference reaffirmed the composition of the NEC as elected at Kabwe. Leadership Members The NEC was elected at the ANC's 48th National Conference in Durban in July 1991. Nelson Mandela
5418-602: The ANC's 49th National Conference in December that year, he also declined to run for re-election to the party's leadership. After his retirement, he and his family continued to live in Soweto, where they had lived before the Rivonia Trial. Sisulu died at his home in Linden,Johannesburg on the evening of 5 May 2003, just shy of his 91st birthday, in the presence of his wife. He was given a " special official funeral " on 17 May 2003. Among
5544-405: The ANC's National Conference and consists of 87 members, including the party's top officials, such as the president of the ANC , deputy president, chairperson, secretary-general, two deputy secretaries-general, and treasurer-general (known as the "Top Seven"). It also elects a National Working Committee (NWC), which takes on the day-to-day operational responsibilities of the party. Members of
5670-402: The ANC's national conference under clear rules. The Top Seven is elected separately, usually before the election of the rest of the NEC. Nominations for the NEC and Top Seven emanate from the local branch level. In the run-up to a National Conference, every ANC branch in good standing holds a branch nomination meeting, at which, provided it is quorate, it may nominate one individual for each of
5796-458: The ANC's National Executive on the eve of the Congress. Among the organisations present were the Indian Congress and the ANC. The Freedom Charter articulated a vision for South Africa that radically differed from the partition policy of apartheid. It: The congress delegates had consented to almost all the sections of the charter when the police announced that they suspected treason and recorded
5922-584: The ANC's National Executive that year, the ANCYL advocated a radical black nationalist programme that combined the Africanist ideas of Anton Lembede with Marxism . They proposed that white authority could only be overthrown through mass campaigns. The ideals of the ANC and ANCYL are stated in the ANC official web site and state, concerning the Tripartite Alliance: "The Alliance is founded on a common commitment to
6048-453: The ANC's executive to adopt armed struggle. Mandela first advocated this option during the Defiance Campaign of 1952, but his proposal was rejected by his fellow activists for being too radical. However, with the subsequent success of revolutionary struggles in Cuba , French Indochina , and French Algeria , the ANC executive became increasingly more open to suggestions by Mandela and Sisulu that it
6174-507: The African National Congress The National Executive Committee ( NEC ) of the African National Congress ( ANC ) is the political party 's highest decision-making body in between its party conferences . It serves as the primary executive organ responsible for leading and governing the ANC, directing the party's policies, strategies, and overall operations. The NEC is elected every five years at
6300-614: The Coloured People's Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats (SACOD) and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) met and founded the National Action Council for the Congress of the People. Delegates were drawn from each of these establishments and a nationwide organiser was assigned. A campaign was publicised for the drafting of a freedom charter, and asked for 10,000 volunteers to help with
6426-594: The Education and Cultural Advancement of African People of South Africa before expanding into a political administration with Biko as its honorary president. When the BCM's principles were revealed, a number of fresh organisations staunch in their endorsement of black liberation were founded. The Azanian People's Organisation was only launched in 1978, a long time after the birth of the Black Consciousness Movement, as
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#17330858734946552-477: The Extension of University Education Act of 1959, which guaranteed that black and white students would be taught individually and inequitably. After the Rivonia Trial and the banning of the ANC and PAC, the struggle within South Africa was significantly suppressed. The age bracket that had seen the Sharpeville massacre became apathetic. A revival in anti-apartheid sentiment came in the late 1960s and mid-1970s from
6678-466: The NEC must have been paid-up members of the ANC for at least five years prior to nomination, and at least half must be women. The NEC consists of: The size of the elected NEC was increased to 56 members (including the Top Six) at the 48th National Conference in 1991, and then to 66 members (including the Top Six) at the 49th National Conference in 1994 – during apartheid , the NEC had been smaller and of
6804-561: The NEC. At least two of these, the Political HQ (replaced by the expanded Internal Political Committee in 1987) and the Military HQ, fell under the ambit of the PMC and were represented in the PMC. ANC intelligence structures were also represented, and the PMC was responsible for coordinating the activities of these three wings. The PMC, like many other ANC structures, was dissolved before 1991 during
6930-603: The NP's bigoted policies and the repression of the black people. During the 1970s, resistance grew stronger through trade unions and strikes, and was then spearheaded by the South African Students' Organisation under Steve Biko 's leadership. A medical student, Biko was the main force behind the growth of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), which stressed the need for psychological liberation, black pride , and non-violent opposition to apartheid. The BCM faction
7056-414: The National Party reacted to increased external pressure and the atmosphere of political unrest. Leading ANC officials such as Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu were released from prison between 1987 and 1989, and in 1990 the ANC and PAC were formally delisted as banned organisations by President F. W. de Klerk , and Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The same year, MK reached a formal ceasefire with
7182-410: The PAC and Poqo. The PAC did not have adequate direction. Many PAC principals were taken into custody on 21 March 1960, and those released were hampered by bans. When Robert Sobukwe (who was jailed following the Sharpeville massacre) was discharged from Robben Island in 1969, he was placed under house arrest in Kimberley until he died in 1978. Police repeatedly lengthened his incarceration through
7308-523: The PAC. The Sharpeville Massacre persuaded several anti-apartheid movements that nonviolent civil disobedience alone was ineffective at encouraging the National Party government to seek reform. The resurgent tide of armed revolutions in many developing nations and European colonial territories during the early 1960s gave ANC and PAC leaders the idea that nonviolent civil disobedience should be complemented by acts of insurrection and sabotage. Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were instrumental in persuading
7434-446: The Pretoria Central Prison, and the other seven were imprisoned on Robben Island. Bram Fischer , the defence trial attorney, was also arrested and tried shortly thereafter. The instructions that Mandela gave to make MK an African force were ignored: it continued to be organised and led by the SACP. The trial was condemned by the United Nations Security Council and was a major force in the introduction of international sanctions against
7560-408: The Revolutionary Council included several leaders of the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) – this in a period in which the NEC was limited to blacks ("Africans") only, while MK leadership (and thus the council) included several whites, Indians, and coloureds, especially from the Communist Party . Although it was located under the NEC, the council had considerable power. From around 1976, it
7686-452: The South African Army during World War II, were instrumental in training MK recruits. The SACP was also able to secure promises of military aid from the Soviet Union for the fledgling guerrilla army, and purchased Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia , just outside Johannesburg, to serve as MK's headquarters. Throughout the 1960s, MK was still a relatively small unit of poorly equipped guerrilla fighters incapable of taking significant action against
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#17330858734947812-401: The South African Student's Movement (SASM). It was particularly popular in Soweto, where the 1976 insurrection against Bantu Education would prove to be a crossroads in the fight against apartheid. Biko was taken into custody on 18 August 1977 and brutally tortured by unidentified security personnel until he lapsed into a coma. He was not medically treated for three days and died in Pretoria. At
7938-406: The South African government. After Sharpeville the ANC and PAC were banned. The SACP denied it existed, having dissolved in 1950 to escape banning as the CPSA. Leaders like Mandela and Sobukwe were either in jail or in exile. Consequently, there were serious mutinies in Angolan camps by Soweto and Cape student recruits angry at the corrupt and brutal consequences of minority control. The government
8064-432: The South African security forces. Success of the MK's strategy depended on its ability to stoke the anger of a politically conscious black underclass and its armed struggle was essentially a strategic attempt at mass socialisation.This reflected the principles of Leninist vanguardism which heavily influenced SACP and ANC political theory to a lesser extent. MK commanders hoped that through their actions, they could appeal to
8190-486: The administration was multiracial, it was not addressing many of the issues of the mounting number of black students since 1960. This resulted in the 1967 creation of the University Christian Movement (UCM), an organisation rooted in African-American philosophy. In July 1967, the annual NUSAS symposium took place at Rhodes University in Grahamstown . White students were permitted to live on university grounds, but black students were relegated to accommodation further away in
8316-414: The apartheid system, beginning with the Constitutional Referendum of 1983 . This introduced the Tricameral Parliament , which allowed for some parliamentary representation of Coloureds and Indians , but continued to deny political rights to black South Africans. The resulting controversy triggered a new wave of anti-apartheid social movements and community groups which articulated their interests through
8442-462: The approach of the National Forum, which believed that the struggle should hold little or no place for whites. The ideal of blacks leading the resistance campaign was an important aim of the traditional Black Consciousness groups, and it shaped the thinking of many 1980s activists, especially those in the workforce. Furthermore, the NF focused on workers' issues, which became more and more important to BC supporters. National Executive Committee of
8568-425: The back. Many witnesses stated that the crowd was not violent, but Colonel J. Pienaar, the senior police officer in charge on the day, said: "Hordes of natives surrounded the police station. My car was struck with a stone. If they do these things they must learn their lesson the hard way." The event became known as the Sharpeville massacre . In the aftermath the government banned the African National Congress (ANC) and
8694-491: The campaign, almost 8,000 black and Indian people had been detained; at the same time, ANC membership grew from 7,000 to 100,000, and the number of subdivisions went from 14 at the campaign's beginning to 87 at its end. There was also a change in leadership: shortly before the campaign ended, Albert Luthuli was elected as the new ANC president. By the end of the campaign, the government was forced to temporarily relax its apartheid legislation. Once things had calmed down, however,
8820-429: The carnage in Soweto the ANC's Nelson Mandela grudgingly concurred that bloodshed was the only means left to convince the NP to accede to commands for an end to its apartheid policy. A subversive plan of terror was mapped out, with Biko and the BCM at the forefront. The BCM and other opinionated elements were prohibited during the 1970s because the government saw them as dangerous. Black Consciousness in South Africa adopted
8946-409: The conscription of views across the country and the Congress of the People. Demands were documented and sent to the local board of the National Action Council in preparation for drafting the Charter. The Congress of the People was held 25–26 June 1955 in Kliptown , south of Johannesburg . 3,000 delegates gathered under police watch to revise and accept the Freedom Charter that had been endorsed by
9072-475: The country and black people disregarded racial laws; for example, they walked through "whites only" entries. At the campaign's zenith in September 1952, more than 2,500 people from 24 different towns were arrested for defying various laws. After five months, the African and Indian Congresses decided to call off the campaign because of the increasing number of riots, strikes and heavier sentences on participants. During
9198-497: The country, earning him the moniker "The Black Pimpernel". Mandela initially avoided arrest within South Africa, but in August 1962, after receiving some inside information, the police put up a roadblock and captured him. MK's success declined with his arrest and the police infiltrated the organisation. In July 1963, the police found the location of the MK headquarters at Lilliesleaf. They raided
9324-461: The crowd was estimated to be 20,000 people. The crowd converged on the Sharpeville police station, singing and offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their pass books. A group of police officers panicked and opened fire on the demonstrators shortly after the crowd approached the police station, killing 69 people and injuring 186. All the victims were black, and most of them had been shot in
9450-410: The farm and arrested many major leaders of the ANC and MK, including Sisulu, Mbeki and Ahmed Kathrada . They were detained and indicted with sabotage and attempting to bring down the government. At the same time, police collected evidence to be used in the trial that allowed them to arrest others like Denis Goldberg . Particularly damaging was the information on Operation Mayibuye (Operation Comeback),
9576-458: The façade of mere separation; it gave the owners of public amenities the right to bar people on the basis of colour or race and made it lawful for different races to be treated inequitably. Sisulu, Mandela, Albert Luthuli , other famous ANC members, Indian Congress, and trade union chiefs' activities were all proscribed under the Suppression of Communism Act. The proscription meant that the headship
9702-487: The first woman to be arrested under the so-called 90 Day Act, the General Laws Amendment Act of 1963, which allowed the state to detain suspects for up to 90 days without charging them . He was caught at Rivonia on 11 July, along with Govan Mbeki , Ahmed Kathrada and 14 others. At the conclusion of the Rivonia Trial , Sisulu was sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. Part of his testimony during
9828-719: The government responded harshly and took several extreme measures, among which were the Unlawful Organisations Act, the Suppression of Communism Act , the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Procedures Act. Criminal Law Amendment Act No 8 stated that "[any] person who in any way whatsoever advises, encourages, incites, commands, aids or procures any other person ... or uses language calculated to cause any other person to commit an offence by way of protest against
9954-468: The government) at the turn of the decade. When Umkhonto we Sizwe was established in 1961, Sisulu served on its High Command. After 1952, he was jailed seven times in the next ten years, including five months in 1960, and was held under house arrest in 1962. At the Treason Trial (1956–1961), he was eventually sentenced to six years, but was released on bail pending his appeal. He went underground in 1963, resulting in his wife, Albertina Sisulu , becoming
10080-534: The law... shall be guilty of an offence." In December 1952, Mandela, Sisulu and 18 others were tried under the Suppression of Communism Act for leading the Defiance Campaign . They received nine months' imprisonment, which was suspended for two years. The government also tightened the regulation of separate amenities. Protesters had argued to the courts that different amenities for different races ought to be of an equal standard. The Separate Amenities Act removed
10206-468: The lists of nominees from the leagues, which hold nomination conferences in the same way as the provinces. The availability of nominees to stand in the elections is confirmed, and all voting delegates are also allowed to propose additional nominations from the floor at the conference, although such proposals only succeed if 25% of delegates support them. Although since 1994 the election of the NEC has often been preceded by considerable political manoeuvring,
10332-426: The majority of his sentence on Robben Island , though he was later transferred to Pollsmoor Prison . His wife, Albertina Sisulu , was frequently under banning orders – the first from 1964 to 1969 – which prevented her from travelling to Cape Town to visit him. As part of the prelude to the negotiations to end apartheid , Sisulu and other Rivonia Trial defendants were released from prison on 15 October 1989; Sisulu
10458-578: The masses and inspire a popular uprising against the South African regime. A popular uprising would compensate for the MK's weaknesses as it offered a way to defeat the National Party politically without having to engage in a direct military confrontation which the guerrillas would have no hope of winning. On 16 December 1961, MK operatives bombed a number of public facilities in several major South African cities, namely Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. This programme of controlled sabotage
10584-502: The movement apart," and that it is a matter of profound cultural practice within the ANC that individuals do not promote or canvass for themselves. Historically, this has justifiably been frowned upon as being in bad revolutionary taste. In 1969, while based primarily in Tanzania, the NEC established the Revolutionary Council, which focused on both political and military aspects of the internal anti-apartheid struggle . Notably,
10710-603: The names and addresses of all those present. In 1956, the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was founded and led by Lilian Ngoyi , Helen Joseph and Amina Cachalia . On 9 August that year, the women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria and protested against the pass laws. On the morning of 5 December 1956, the police detained 156 Congress Alliance leaders: 104 African, 23 white, 21 Indian and eight Coloured people. They were charged with high treason and plotting
10836-505: The objectives of the National Democratic Revolution , and the need to unite the largest possible cross-section of South Africans behind these objectives," citing the actionable intent and their goal to end oppression. When the ANCYL took control of the ANC, the organisation advocated a policy of open defiance and resistance for the first time, which unleashed the 1950s Programme of Action, instituted in 1949, that emphasised
10962-433: The product of a good marriage, a good political marriage, but a good marriage, one that is based on genuine equality and on shared commitment." Both were born into Christian families, but, asked in 1992 whether they practised their religion, Albertina replied: "There’s no time, my dear." Together, the couple had five children: Max (born 1945), an ANC politician; Mlungisi , a businessman (born 1948, died 2015); Zwelakhe ,
11088-466: The right of the African people to freedom under the flag of African Nationalism. It laid out plans for strikes , boycotts , and civil disobedience , resulting in mass protests, stay-aways , boycotts, strikes and occasional violent clashes. The 1950 May Day stay-away was a strong, successful expression of black grievances. In 1952, the Joint Planning Council, made up of members from the ANC,
11214-430: The ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid , which began formally in 1990 and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in 1994. Apartheid was adopted as a formal South African government policy by the NP following their victory in
11340-515: The struggle against apartheid, under the catchphrase " Liberation before education ". Black communities became highly politicised. The Black Consciousness Movement began to change its focus during the 1980s from issues of nation and community to issues of class; as a result, they may have made of an impact than in the mid-1970s, though there is some evidence to suggest that it retained at least some influence, particularly in workers' organisations. The role of Black Consciousness could be clearly seen in
11466-573: The subsequent inquest, the magistrate ruled that no-one was culpable, but the South African Medical Association eventually took action against the doctors who had failed to treat Biko. There was a strong reaction both within and outside South Africa. Foreign countries imposed even more stringent sanctions, and the United Nations imposed an arms embargo . Young blacks inside South Africa committed themselves even more fervently to
11592-433: The term of the NEC from three years to five years, following the resolution of the 1997 50th National Conference to reduce the frequency of national conferences to twice a decade. Until 1985, members of the NEC were not appointed by election, but rather were appointed and seconded on a much more ad hoc basis, at the discretion of the leadership. In recent years, however, members of the NEC are elected by secret ballot at
11718-420: The transition to democracy in South Africa, which brought the unbanning and return from exile of the ANC, as well as the de-escalation of MK activities. Like the Revolutionary Council, the PMC was chaired by Tambo. Members included: The London-based PMC was led by Aziz Pahad and Wally Serote . Soon after each national conference, the newly constituted NEC appoints – at least in recent years, by election –
11844-511: The treasurer. He later distanced himself from Lembede after Lembede, who died in 1947, had ridiculed his parentage. The Youth League's drive for a more militant posture was given further fuel in 1948, when the National Party (NP) won national elections on a platform of legislating apartheid . In December 1949, at the ANC's 38th National Conference , the Youth League leadership carried out
11970-432: The trial included the commitment: I wish to make this solemn vow in full appreciation of the consequences it entails. As long as I enjoy the confidence of my people, and as long as there is a spark of life and energy in me, I shall fight with courage and determination for the abolition of discriminatory laws and for the freedom of all South Africans irrespective of colour or creed. With other senior ANC figures, Sisulu served
12096-408: The trial, Mandela gave his " I am prepared to die " speech. In June 1964, eight were found guilty of terrorism, sabotage, planning and executing guerrilla warfare and working towards an armed invasion of the country. The treason charge was dropped and all eight were sentenced to life imprisonment. They did not get the death penalty, as it received too much international criticism. Goldberg was sent to
12222-399: The tributes he received after his death, Mandela – joking that both he and Sisulu "had long passed the age when either of us would protest against the brevity of life" – said: Our paths first intersected in 1941. During the past 62 years our lives have been intertwined. We shared the joy of living, and the pain. Together we shared ideas, forged common commitments. We walked side by side through
12348-682: The valley of death, nursing each other's bruises, holding each other up when our steps faltered. Together we savoured the taste of freedom. From the moment when we first met he has been my friend, my brother, my keeper, my comrade. After Mandela's death in 2013, Mac Maharaj – who had been on Robben Island with both men and later became a cabinet minister – told the media that he had had Sisulu and Mandela write obituaries for each other before 2003, and had kept both. His admirers, including Mandela, frequently noted his humility. Those imprisoned with him on Robben Island remarked upon his unflappable calm and patience – as Mandela put it in his autobiography , "He
12474-477: The vote in the 1994 South African election. The widely publicised Rivonia Trial began in October 1963. Ten men were accused of treason for trying to depose the government and sabotage. Mandela, along with those arrested at Lilliesleaf and another 24 co-conspirators, were tried. Many of them, including Tambo, had already fled the country. The ANC used the lawsuit to draw international interest to its cause. During
12600-524: The year before, Sisulu was elected ANC Deputy President. It was believed that he had been convinced to accept the job in order to prevent a disruptive power struggle between a younger generation of activists – such as Cyril Ramaphosa , Thabo Mbeki , and Chris Hani – vying for the deputy presidency. In 1994, the ANC won a majority in South Africa's first democratic elections and formed a government headed by Mandela, but Sisulu, weakened by age and his long imprisonment, declined to serve in public office. At
12726-472: Was 77. His return to Soweto was greeted with celebrations in the street, and he told media of his long detention, "It was not possible to despair because the spirit of the people outside was too great". In 1990, he formed part of the ANC delegation to the negotiations with the government which resulted in the Groote Schuur Minute . In July 1991, at the ANC's first national conference since its unbanning
12852-497: Was able to dismantle the ANC's power within South Africa's borders by incarcerating leaders of MK and the ANC, and greatly affect its efficiency outside of them. The ANC faced many problems in the aftermath of the Rivonia Trial, as its inner administration was severely damaged. By 1964, the ANC went into hiding and planned guerilla activities from overseas. At the end of the 1960s, new organisations and ideas would form to confront apartheid. The next key act of opposition came in 1976 with
12978-552: Was also a Revolutionary Council structure in London, chaired by Yusuf Dadoo and including Jack Hodgson, Ronnie Kasrils , Aziz Pahad , Reg September , and Solly Smith. In 1983, the Revolutionary Council was replaced by the Politico-Military Council (PMC), which became "the executive arm of the NEC in relation to all matters pertaining to the conduct of the political and military struggle inside South Africa." This followed
13104-486: Was as loved as Sisulu was. You know that difference between a father and a leader? That was the big difference between them. In 1944, Sisulu married Albertina , a nurse, whom he had met in 1942 in Johannesburg; Mandela was his best man at their wedding. At the ceremony, Lembede warned Albertina: "You are marrying a man who is already married to the nation." Sisulu later recalled, "Even when I married my wife, I told her it
13230-680: Was confiscated. 3,246 PAC and Poqo members were arrested. In 1968, PAC was expelled from Maseru (where it was allied with the opposition Basutoland Congress Party) and Zambia (which was friendlier to the ANC). Between 1974 and 1976 Leballo and Ntantala trained the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) and the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) in Libya. American pressures split the PAC into a "reformist-diplomatic" group under Sibeko, Make, and Pokela, and
13356-473: Was criticised to be destructive and alien to Africa. Black people became conscious of their own distinctive identity and self-worth and grew more outspoken about their right to freedom. The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was the first organisation to represent students in South Africa, but it had a principally white membership, and black students saw this as an impediment. White students' concerns were more scholastic than political, and although
13482-740: Was elected ANC president, replacing Oliver Tambo , who had suffered a stroke in 1989 and stepped down after 24 years as president. As indicated below, the NEC voted to co-opt five additional members after 1991, in order to fill vacancies arising from deaths and resignations. Leadership Members * Members of the National Working Committee The NEC was elected at the ANC's 49th National Conference in Bloemfontein in December 1994. Well represented are former Robben Island prisoners, as well as trade unionists and other former leaders of internal anti-apartheid structures, such as
13608-478: Was elected Mandela's successor as ANC president. After 1997, as indicated below, eleven additional members were co-opted onto the NEC. Five were co-opted in February 1998, soon after the conference, and the other six were co-opted later to fill vacancies arising from resignations and deaths. Leadership Elected members Ex officio members Observers * Members of the National Working Committee The NEC
13734-521: Was elected as acting president, he made a public statement that he would launch an attack on South African Police with an army of 150.000 cadres. A few days after that statement, he send two women PAC couriers, Cynthia Lichaba and Thabisa Lethala, to post letters in Ladybrand, a South African town near Lesotho. The letters contained instructions and details of Poqo cadres. The two women were arrested by Basutoland police and correspondence addressed to poqo cells
13860-436: Was elected on 29 January 2023, following the NEC's first meeting after the 55th National Conference . It will serve until December 2027. In addition to the Top Seven, the members are: The National List Committee reports to, and is appointed annually by, the NEC. It is responsible for the selection of ANC candidates for the national Parliament, and it also oversees and regulates the provincial selection processes. The committee
13986-447: Was established following amendments to the ANC constitution by the 50th National Conference in 1997, prior to which the parliamentary selection process had been less centralised. The NEC is responsible for several other subcommittees, which are primarily staffed by NEC members and whose composition is agreed by the NEC early in its term. Important is the national Deployment Committee (chaired by Deputy President David Mabuza ), which
14112-582: Was established in 1998 to implement resolutions of the 50th National Conference which endorsed a policy of ANC cadre deployment in the public service and "key centres of power." Other NEC subcommittees include the Economic Transformation Committee (chaired by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana ), the Elections Committee (chaired by Fikile Mbalula ), a National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal (chaired by Nomvula Mokonyane ), and over
14238-574: Was founded by Biko and materialised out of the ideas of the civil rights movement and Black Power movement in the USA. The motto of the movement was "Black is Beautiful", first made popular by boxer Mohammed Ali. BCM endorsed black pride and African customs, and did much to alter feelings of inadequacy while raising awareness of the fallacy of blacks being seen as inferior. It defied practices and merchandise that were meant to make black people "whiter", such as hair straighteners and skin lighteners. Western culture
14364-455: Was launched with the Defiance Campaign in June 1952. By defying the laws, the organisation hoped to incite mass arrests that would overwhelm the government. Mandela led a crowd of 50 men down the streets of a white area in Johannesburg after the 11 pm curfew that forbade black people's presence. The group was apprehended, but the rest of the country followed its example. Defiance spread throughout
14490-421: Was not deliberately employed until 1959. That year, anger over pass laws and environmental regulations perceived as unjust by black farmers resulted in a series of arsons targeting sugarcane plantations. Organisations such as the ANC, the South African Communist Party , and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) remained preoccupied with organising student strikes and work boycotts between 1959 and 1960. Following
14616-507: Was not elected by the party's membership and, as indicated below, it co-opted additional members after 1969 "as the leadership saw fit." Leadership Members The NEC continued to be appointed without elections over this period, and its composition changed very little. Leadership Members The NEC was elected in May 1985 in Kabwe , Zambia , and was the ANC's first fully elected NEC. In 1990,
14742-531: Was notorious for its role in the repression of anti-apartheid activists. Prior to the 1960s, the NP government managed to quell much of the anti-apartheid opposition within South Africa by outlawing movements like the ANC and PAC, and driving their leaders into exile or captivity. Tertiary-education organisations such as the University of the North and Zululand University began to resist apartheid; they were fashioned by
14868-569: Was often silent when others were shouting." After his release from prison, according to the Los Angeles Times , Sisulu "was always a voice for moderation, preaching the importance of a national reconciliation". Upon his death, Kathrada told the New York Times : I've always said that one can't speak of Mandela without speaking of Sisulu. They complement each other... Mandela was highly respected, highly admired. But I would not be able to say he
14994-643: Was ranked 33rd on SABC 3 's list of Great South Africans . The Walter Sisulu National Botanic Garden , Walter Sisulu University and Walter Sisulu Local Municipality are named after him. Internal resistance to apartheid Military stalemate between MK and South African security forces Bilateral negotiations to end apartheid Internal resistance to apartheid in South Africa originated from several independent sectors of South African society and took forms ranging from social movements and passive resistance to guerrilla warfare . Mass action against
15120-502: Was responsible for two subordinate structures: the Internal Political Reconstruction Committee, focused on the South African political underground and internal propaganda, and MK Central Operations HQ, focused on internal armed struggle. The Revolutionary Council was chaired by ANC president Oliver Tambo throughout its lifespan, and other members included (with approximate dates): From around 1976, there
15246-428: Was restricted to their homes and adjacent areas and they were banned from attending public gatherings. On the global stage, India demanded that apartheid be challenged by the United Nations, which led to the establishment of a UN commission on apartheid. Although the movement was subjected to increasing restrictions, it was still able to struggle against the oppressive instruments of the state. Collaboration between
15372-401: Was that the ANC papers were full of communist terms like " comrade " and " proletariat ", which are often found in the writings of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin . Halfway through the drawn-out trial, charges against 61 of the accused were withdrawn, and, five years after their arrest, the remaining 30 were acquitted after the court held that the state had failed to prove its case. In 1958
15498-400: Was the only black-owned real estate agency in South Africa. In 1940, Sisulu joined the African National Congress (ANC), which had been founded in the year of his birth. The following year, Nelson Mandela moved to Johannesburg and was introduced to Sisulu, who by then was well connected among the city's activist class. Sisulu later said, ''I had no hesitation, the moment I met him, that this
15624-530: Was time for armed struggle. From 1961 to 1963, the ground in South Africa was slowly being readied for armed revolution. A hierarchical network of covert ANC cells was created for underground operations, military aid solicited from sympathetic African states and the Soviet Union, and a guerrilla training camp established in Tanganyika . In June 1961, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (abbreviated as MK) had been set up by
15750-702: Was timed to coincide with the Day of the Vow , the anniversary of an important battle between the voortrekkers and the Zulu Kingdom in 1838. Over the next eighteen months, MK carried out 200 acts of sabotage, mostly targeting pass offices, power pylons, and police stations. In October 1962 the ANC publicly declared responsibility for the sabotage campaign and acknowledged the existence of MK. Mandela began planning for MK members to be given military training outside South Africa and slipped past authorities as he himself moved in and out of
15876-438: Was useless buying new furniture. I was going to be in jail." While he was in prison, Albertina became a very important anti-apartheid activist in her own right, with leadership roles in the United Democratic Front and Federation of South African Women . In 1982, Ruth First paid tribute to their marriage at an ANC celebration for Walter (in absentia) on his birthday, saying: "His capacity to lead and her political strength are...
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