Advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa, CEO National Heritage Council

THE LEGACY OF SOLOMON MAHLANGU AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR US TODAY Advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa, CEO National Heritage Council Presented at the Solomon Mahlangu Memorial Lecture, Nkonkobe Municipality Fort Beaufort Town Hall, 23 June 2015

Programme Director, Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends, on behalf of the National Heritage Council (NHC), I would like to thank you for the invitation to deliver this very important Solomon Mahlangu Memorial lecture during Youth Month.

In the time available, I intend to briefly share with you the mandate of the NHC and its role in terms of heritage and social cohesion; discuss Solomon Mahlangu and his place in South African history; then conclude with remarks on what this icon means for us today - especially for the youth of today.

The National Heritage Council is a public entity responsible for preservation of the country’s heritage. Since our establishment in 2004, we have managed to place heritage as a priority for nation building and national identity. The important areas that the NHC focuses on are:

. Policy development for the sector to meet its transformation goals.

. Public awareness and education.

. Knowledge production in heritage subjects that were previously neglected,

. Making funding available to projects that place heritage as a socio-economic resource.

Overall, the NHC plays an important advocacy and coordinating role on heritage matters in SA. As the NHC we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of promoting social cohesion and nation building in South Africa. We strongly believe that arts, culture and heritage can be the glue that binds society together. When it comes to issues of heritage, the youth have a very special role to play.

1 One of our flagship programmes as the NHC is the National Liberation Heritage Route. The objective of the Liberation Heritage Route (LHR) is to identify, document, research, present and develop a series of liberation sites with local, provincial and national significance. The profiling of liberation heritage is part of the process towards preserving national identity and reconstructing the memory of the liberation struggle for current and future generations. One of the main icons of our liberation is, of course, Solomon Malhangu.

The biography of Solomon Mahlangu should be well known to all South Africans. However, it has become increasingly clear that we need to actively ensure that our history is passed from one generation to another so that our collective memory of our liberation struggle is not lost. Just in case some of you do not know the story of Solomon Mahangu and his place in South African history, I want to spend some time exploring this.

Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu was born in Pretoria on 10 July in 1956. He was the second son of Martha Mahlangu. His father left in 1962, and from then on he only saw him infrequently. His mother was a domestic worker and took sole responsibility for his upbringing. He attended Mamelodi High School up to Standard 8, but did not complete his schooling as a result of the school’s closure due to the 1976 student uprising.1

In September 1976, Solomon joined the African National Congress (ANC) and left the country to be trained as an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadre. He received training in Angola and Mozambique. He was part of a new generation of MK recruits known as the June 16 Detachment, as the group was made up mainly of students who were part of the student uprisings of 1976. Some of the training was at Funda Camp,

1 This biography is largely drawn from the citation on Solomon Mahlangu on the awarding of the national Order of Mendi for Bravery (Presidency website http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=7630 , site accessed 21 June 2015) and the excellent entry in the SA History on Line website, http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/solomon-kalushi-mahlangu (site accessed 21 June 2015). The site also has copies of important documents. It is an invaluable teaching aid for those wanting to teach the history of our struggle for freedom.

2 where he underwent crash courses in sabotage, military combat, scouting and political education.

Solomon Mahlangu’s MK unit left Angola in mid-1977 on a mission to join student protests commemorating the June 16 uprising. They travelled through Mozambique to Namatswa on the Swaziland border. Then they were driven to a safe house in Mbabane, where they were briefed by commander Siphiwe Nyanda and given suitcases with false bottoms containing pamphlets, guns and grenades. On 11 June 1977 he infiltrated back into South Africa as a cadre, heavily armed, through Swaziland.

Two days later, Solomon Mahlangu and his companions, Mondy Johannes Motloung and George ‘Lucky’ Mahlangu, were accosted by police as they were boarding a taxi at the Diagonal Street taxi rank in Johannesburg where they planned to catch a taxi to Soweto. ‘Lucky’ Mahlangu managed to escape. Solomon Mahlangu and Mondy Motloung ended up at Goch Street where the became engaged in a fire fight. In the ensuing gun battle two civilian men were killed and two wounded. Solomon Mahlangu and Motloung were arrested.

Both cadres were brutally tortured while in police custody. The police detained them under the 90-day detention law giving the state time to fabricate a case against the pair. Before the trial could commence Motloung was so badly beaten that he sustained severe brain damage. A clinical psychologist declared Motloung unfit to stand trial.

Solomon’s mother and brother – not knowing what was happening – were taken to see him. Solomon and his mother stood in silence looking at each other, and eventually Solomon asked his mother how the family was doing, she answered that they were all right, but after another period of silence she broke into a flood of tears. Solomon then asked his mother; ‘Why are you crying in front of these dogs… I don’t care what they do to me. And if they spill my blood, maybe it will give birth to other Solomons.’

3 Solomon was charged with two counts of murder and several charges under the Terrorism Act. His trial lasted from November 1977 to March 1978. Solomon pleaded not guilty to the charges. His counsel stated that he entered South Africa in June 1977 as part of a group of ten, bringing arms, ammunition, explosives and ANC pamphlets into the country.

The judge accepted that Motloung was responsible for the fatal shootings in Goch Street. Since he had been so brutally beaten during the course of his capture and had suffered such severe brain damage that he unfit to stand trial, the State focused its case on Solomon Mahlangu. Solomon was found guilty under the notorious principle of ‘common purpose’ on two counts of murder and three charges under the Terrorism Act. He was sentenced to death by hanging on 2 March 1978.

Huge public outrage greeted news of his death sentence. On 15 June 1978 Solomon Mahlangu was refused leave to appeal his sentence by the Rand Supreme Court, and on 24 July 1978 he was refused again in the Bloemfontein Appeal Court. His case became an international issue and various governments, the United Nations, international organizations, groups and prominent individuals attempted to intercede on his behalf whilst Solomon awaited his execution in Pretoria Central Prison. The apartheid regime was unmoved by international pressure and he was executed by hanging on 6 April 1979.

During his time in prison Solomon Mahlangu showed incredible fortitude and courage. He never wavered in his resistance to his oppressors. Shortly before his death he is spoke the immortal words, ‘My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight.’

His execution provoked international protest and condemnation of South Africa’s internal policy. In fear of crowd reaction at a large funeral, the police decided to bury Solomon Mahlangu in Atteridgeville.

Within a few months of his execution, from 1979 to 1983, units of the June 16 Detachment mounted a series of attacks inside South Africa. The Silverton Siege occurred in January 1980, during an attack carried out by units of the June 16

4 Detachment known as TUM and G5. Other TUM units carried out attacks on police stations in Soweto, Wonderboom in Pretoria and Soekmekaar.

In 1979, the ANC named the school at its settlement at Mzimbu near Morogoro in Tanzania the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO) in his honour and in remembrance and the spirit of Solomon Mahlangu.

On 6 April 1993 his mortal remains were exhumed from Atteridgeville reinterred at the Mamelodi Cemetery, where a plaque states his last words.

Also in 1993, the Solomon Mahlangu Square in Mamelodi was dedicated to his memory. In further recognition of his status as a hero of the revolutionary struggle in South Africa, in 2005 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Mendi for Bravery in Gold for bravery and sacrificing his life for freedom and democracy in South Africa.

In other tributes to his sacrifice, a very beautiful statue of Solomon Mahlangu was unveiled in 2005 in Mamelodi. The bronze statue depicts him in MK uniform, with combat boots and a beret under his left epaulette. In his right hand he holds a symbolic representation of the globe, symbolizing the 'world of opportunity'. In 2009, the South African Post Office issued a stamp bearing an image of Solomon Mahlangu to mark the 30th anniversary of his execution on 6 April 2009.

Solomon Mahlangu is both a role model and an icon for us all today, but especially for the youth. His willingness to sacrifice his own comfort for his people, the principles and values he espoused, his amazing courage even in the face of death, should continue to inspire us today.

I would like to issue an invitation to all youth present here to emulate the values and principles of Solomon Mahlangu and take up the socio-economic challenges we face in our communities today. Today we face different challenges to those faced by Solomon Mahalngu in the 1970s. But these challenges also require the youth of South Africa to step forward and confront them. It is nothing less than the future of our Nation we are talking about. And as you seek solutions to our challenges, do not lose sight of the example provided by youth like Solomon Mahlangu in the past. The

5 values they espoused and the role they played should serve as your inspiration and guide.

In conclusion, Programme Director, allow me to congratulate the Nkonkobe Local Municipality for organising this Solomon Mahlangu Memorial lecture.

Let me also congratulate you on the Youth Council in Social Cohesion Programme. It is very import that our youth are mobilised to be active citizens, participate actively in society and continue to strive to make South Africa a non-racial, democratic, non- sexist society.

Programmes such as this one that are being implemented by the Nkonkobe Municipality help to ensure that our youth do not lose sight of their heritage as they strive to build a better tomorrow.

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