MKMVA MOURNS THE DEATH OF ISITWALANDWE/SEAPARANKOE COMRADE ANDREW MLANGENI, AND HONORS HIS SALIENT CONTRIBUTION TO THE COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP THAT HIS GENERATION GAVE TO THE ANC

Date: Thursday, 23 July 2020

The death of comrade Andrew Mokete Mlangeni (Isitwalandwe/Seaparankoe), who was the last of the iconic group of liberation struggle leaders, known as the Rivonia Trialists, leaves a painful void in the revolutionary hearts of the members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA).

The Rivonia Trialists were among the longest serving political prisoners, and a core group of leaders of the ANC and of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), who had taken the lead from the 1940’s onward to intensify, and radicalize resistance to the oppressive racist apartheid regime. They formed part of the High Command of Umkhonto we Sizwe, which as launched on the 16th of December 1961, and symbolized a fundamental intensification in the struggle against apartheid, in as much they were prepared to take up arms against the apartheid regime. Over the decades the Manifesto of MK that was published on the 16th of December 1961, still speaks to us today: “The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom”.

The African National Congress, the veterans of MK, and indeed all the people of South Africa, owe the Rivonia Trialists, and those who took the critical decisions to intensify the struggle against apartheid, and worked with them in implementing those decisions, a huge debt of gratitude.

We recall that comrade Mlangeni turned 95, on the 6th of June, barely more than a month ago. He was born on a Free State farm near Bethlehem. His parents were labour tenants. This meant that they were allowed to stay on the farm as long as they continued to work for the Boer (a certain Naudé), who was the owner of the farm. They did not earn a salary, but worked for the ‘privilege’ to be allowed to stay on the farm - the ancestral land of their forefathers - that were stolen by the descendants of the Boer owner from the Mlangeni family, and other African families.

Comrade Mlangeni became politically conscious early on in his life when he moved to Johannesburg, looking for a job. Although he worked together with some of the great revolutionary leaders of our generation, including comrades Nelson Mandela, Anton Lembede, OR Tambo and Walter Sisulu, he remained a humble, selfless, revolutionary. He preferred to operate, in his own words, as “a back-room boy”. ‘Back-room Boy’, is also the title of comrade Mlangeni’s highly regarded autobiography. Comrade Mlangeni’s unassuming disposition, and preference to avoid the limelight, belied the very important role that he played in the ANC, as a member of the SACP and African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), that pushed for a more radical and revolutionary responses by the ANC against the racist NP apartheid regime. He was part of the Young Lions of the ANCYL who were central in the formulation of the radical Program of Action (PA), that was adopted by the ANC in 1948, and was also a leader of the Defiance Campaign.

Thus, when Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was launched on the 16th of December 1961, comrade Mlangeni became a member of the MK High Command. As such he was eventually arrested by the apartheid security police.

Together with the other Rivonia trialists comrade Mlangeni courageously agreed to the collective statement that President Nelson Mandela, as accused Number One, read out from the dock on behalf of all of them. After having articulated the anti-racist liberation ideals of the ANC, they stated: "these are ideals that we are prepared to live for, but if needs be, to die for".

All the Rivonia trialists received three (3) life sentences, and for the next twenty five (25) years comrade Mlangeni, together with his fellow Rivonia prisoner comrades, were incarcerated by the apartheid regime on Robben Island. Their steadfast adherence to the oath of allegiance that they laid down when MK was formed, and steadfast commitment to the armed struggle, even when one of the apartheid Presidents, PW Botha, offered them freedom if they renounced the armed struggle, remained a great source of strength and encouragement for ANC and MK members, and all South Africans, to continue to mobilize against apartheid.

Their steadfast example also helped to ignite, and strengthened, the revolutionary spirit of resistance of a younger generation that immensely intensified the liberation struggle through the student revolt, and community based struggles, of 1976 and onwards.

When comrade Mlangeni, and most of his fellow Rivonia trial prisoners were eventually released on the 15th of October 1989, he immediately continued together with them his revolutionary activities, and served the ANC in various leadership positions, including as a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC, and a member of our first democratically elected National Assembly. In his usual unassuming, but strongly committed leadership style, he served selflessly in these positions with distinction.

In his ripe old age, comrade Mlangeni continued to be a pillar of revolutionary strength, and he shared his wealth of experience and wisdom with the younger leadership of the ANC. One of the positions where comrade Mlangeni continued to make a contribution, was in his deployment as a member of the Integrity Commission.

Comrade Mlangeni’s life was a living tribute to the collective leadership style, and traditions, of the ANC. He was a humble living personification that the true backbone and strength of the ANC will never be individualism and self-aggrandizement, but collective leadership.

Like President Mandela did, comrade Mlangeni was always the first to emphasize that he was not a self-made man, but a product of the joint - collective - struggle of the ANC.

The remarkable manner in which he, and his generation, radicalized and revolutionized the ANC, and thus our successful resistance to apartheid, remains an inspiration for all of us as we acknowledge that our liberation struggle is far from concluded, and that the full economic empowerment of black (especially African) South Africans, must still be achieved.

MKMVA salutes uBaba Mlangeni as one of the tallest trees of our liberation struggle that had fallen, and we are from the bottom of our hearts deeply grateful for his many decades of service, and the revolutionary wisdom that he continued to share with us up to his last breath.

In a sense, the passing on of comrade Andrew Mlangeni, brings us to the conclusion of a period in our liberation history, in as much as these great leaders, and the living symbolism of their heroic examples and selfless lives, are no longer with us. Now, together with comrade Mlangeni, all the Rivonia Trailists have joined the many other forefathers of our long liberation history.

However, as was the case when all the other great leaders of our struggle passed on, the passing of comrade Mlangeni, can never be interpreted as an end to the ideals that they fought for, and held dear throughout their long illustrious lives. We, in the MKMVA have a long and proud tradition that the passing on of fellow cadres and leaders of our struggle is always accompanied by a commitment to pause for a poignant moment in order to pick of the spear of a fallen comrade, and them to move with determination ahead in memory of that comrade - and all the comrades that preceded him/her with the continuation of our struggle in pursuance of the full liberation of our people.

In this proud history the picked up spear of our fallen comrades in the form of their words, actions and the history of our struggle contribute to our historical analytical insight and ability to continue our liberation struggle with even greater refinement, effectiveness and determination.

It is in understating this, that the powerful words: “Long live the undying spirit of comrade Andrew Mlangeni!”, similar to when we continue to say: “Long live the undying spirits of Chief Albert Luthuli, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela”, and many others, infuse us with more strength to continue with the struggle today, tomorrow and the day thereafter. In fact to continue for as long as the ideals that they have lived and died for, are not yet fully achieved.

The history of the ANC is like a constant flowing river, from its source when it was formed in Mangaung on the 8th of January 1912. There may be times that this river of our Movement flows slower or faster, through narrow ravines and rapids, or meander through the wide open planes of our South African landscape, but the flow never stops. As a river flows - always connected to the feeding fountain of its original source - so our struggle continues.

We can talk about certain important eras/periods in our struggle, but we can never talk about the ‘end of an era’. Those who do so do not understand our struggle, and the fundamental character of the our beloved Liberation Movement, the ANC. We must always guard against having the history of our struggle presented in stops and starts, with glib concepts such as “and end to an era”, or a “new beginning or new deal”. These are the glitzy empty phrases that do not contribute to our understanding our history and our struggle. The constant historical flow our struggle is found in our ages old revolutionary slogan: A LUTA CONTINUA! - Yes indeed, our struggle continues!

In MKMVA we do not talk about certain individual leaders as if they epitomize our struggle, or elevate them above the ANC as the collective organization of all of us that carries the ideals and dreams of our people forward. No person - not even the great Chief Albert Luthuli, OR Tambo or Nelson Mandela - can and should ever be described as the personification of our struggle. They did not make the ANC, the ANC made them. They were not born leaders, they were shaped and honed by the ANC in the daily struggles of our people. It is in that context, as an inspiring leader of our ANC collective, that we mourn the passing of comrade Andrew Mlangeni, and honor him. We honor comrade Mlangeni, and his fellow Rivonia Trialists, in looking forward, and interpreting what we learnt from them, in the context of our unfinished liberation struggle. In that context we are reminded of the sad reality that the Bethlehem farm where comrade Mlangeni was born, and his parents were labour tenants, is still in the ownership of the same Boer family that exploited their labour. Thus, we must rededicate ourselves in the name of uBaba Mlangeni, to the Radical Economic Transformation (RET) Resolution of the 54th National Conference of the ANC for the expropriation of land without compensation, so that the land that had been stolen from our people by the white colonists will indeed be returned to the rightful owners.

This should be part of our overall commitment to ensure that the ideals for the full liberation of our people, which must include the fundamental and radical economic transformation of our economy to fully empower black (especially African)South Africans, that comrade Mlangeni and his fellow Rivonia trialists were committed to, and were ultimately prepared - if it was demanded of them - to die for.

MKMVA extends our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of uBaba Mlangeni. We know that while we simultaneously mourn, and celebrate, the life of one of the greatest sons of our soil, their loss is far more personal and deeper in the sense that they have lost a father, grandfather, and the patriarch of their family. We express our humble, and deeply felt, gratitude that they so generously shared the life of this icon of our struggle with all of us.

Long live the undying spirit of comrade Andrew Mlangeni!

Hamba kahle Mkhonto!

Issued by Carl Niehaus, NEC Member of MKMVA and National Spokesperson For further information contact Carl on: 082 796 2626