UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES OF THE LIBERATION … · 2017. 5. 24. · UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES OF...
Transcript of UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES OF THE LIBERATION … · 2017. 5. 24. · UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES OF...
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UNSUNG HEROES AND HEROINES OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE
NORTH-WEST PROVINCE
Review of the history of the liberation struggle to identify and develop historical
narratives for new Local Heritage Sites (LHR)
Introduction
Based on what information is at hand, there are very few officially gazetted and recognised
heritage sites commemorating the liberation history of this province. For example, a
monument has been erected to those who died during the AWB incursions into the former
Bophuthatswana in 1993 in an attempt to prop up the Mangope regime. This is located along
Nelson Mandela Drive. Mafikeng is the only known town in South Africa to have war
monuments in honour of Black (specifically the Barolong) men and women who died in the
South African (or Anglo Boer) War. It also has a monument honouring Chief Besele
Montshiwa of the Barolong bo Ratshidi, head of a regiment that fought with the side of the
British forces during the war. The monuments were erected by the Barolong chieftaincy with
funds collected from the Barolong people. In the late 1980s, provincial heritage site status
was given to the then abandoned Tiger Kloof Institute, which was later re-opened. In some of
the province’s museums, curators have attempted to illustrate the role that local residents
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played in resisting the Apartheid regime during the years that the liberation movements were
forced into exile, but it has been rather sporadic despite the best intentions of its creators.
Despite this, the region has a rich liberation history and played a pivotal role in the quest for
freedom in South Africa. Most of the emphasis of this report will thus be placed on providing
the context to this role and identifying key LHR sites with a motivation as to why they should
officially be acknowledged as such. Most of the LHR sites identified are related to the themes
outlined below. However, a few fall outside this parameter. Their significance will be
indicated below.
Part One - The Narrative: The Aspects and Legacies of the Fight for Liberation in the
North-West Province (NWP)
A number of these can be identified. They are mentioned briefly below, following which
more detailed information is given on each aspect.
1) The intellectual foundations: Several of the founding lights of the ANC were from
Mafikeng, or had a close connection with the town, such a Sol Plaatje. They provided
much of the intellectual and financial impetus to the South African National Native
Congress (SANNC) from approximately 1909 to the mid-1920s. Dr Modiri Molema
was to play an important role as an office bearer of the organisation into the mid-
1950s.
2) Undoubtedly the most outstanding feature of the NWP in relation to the liberation
struggle lies in its geography. It has an extensive border with Botswana and it was
through this border that many members of the liberation movements were able to exit
and enter the country. Significantly, all three of South Africa’s post-liberation
Presidents used this route to escape from South Africa. The province’s proximity to
the border is in itself significant, but without the co-operation and commitment of the
local residents this crucial ‘pipeline’ would not have been nearly as effective.
Not only was the NWP an important transit route for people, materials and weaponry
into and from Botswana, it was also a transit route through to the Witwatersrand and
beyond. The success of the struggle for freedom was thus dependent on maintaining
contacts and safe houses along this route to ensure the secure passage of activists
through to Johannesburg, Pretoria and environs. This route was through
Zeerust/Mafikeng and Rustenburg. However, there was also a second route leading
from Botswana to Vrybug, Kuruman and on to Kimberley. This was the so-called
Kgalagadi Route run by the Kgalagadi underground.
2) Rural Struggles: The next aspect relates to the rural nature of the province. Histories
of the ANC have generally been urban-biased, and have paid relatively little attention
to rural political organisation and mobilisation. It has been recognised more recently
that rural migrants joined ANC urban structures and galvanised its branches in rural
districts. These men and women forced the organisation to recognise the importance
of responding to the plight of its rural constituents. The Zeerust revolt of 1957-58 is
an important event in the history of rural resistance in South Africa and has been
recognised as such. However, it had long-term consequences which have not been so
apparently acknowledged. For example, it raised political awareness in the Reserve
from the late 1950s that laid the basis for the formation and success of the ‘Zeerust
Pipeline’.
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3) The Bophuthatswana Story: Much of today’s NWP is comprised of the former
Bophuthatswana Bantustan. This meant that much of the struggle for freedom was
conducted against this surrogate of Pretoria. It is well attested that the President of
this state Lucas Mangope, was particularly obdurate in his tactics to thwart the
liberation movements. This particular perspective thus defines the recent past and
legacy of the NWP.
This rich liberation history is not currently reflected in terms of formal heritage sites of one
kind or another. This report will now provide more information on the general themes
outlined above, so as to identify new LHR sites in the NWP.
1) The Intellectual Heritage
Silas Thelesho Molema was a councillor and later his private secretary of the Barolong bo
Ratshi under dikgosi (chiefs), Montshiwa. Molema supported the founding of the South
African National Native Congress (SANNC, later ANC), and raised funds for the delegations
of 1914 and 1919 to travel to Great Britain to protest against the provisions of the Native
Land Act of 1913. Shortly before his death in September 1927, he successfully led a
deputation to the government to protest against discriminatory provisions in the Native
Administration Act. He also provided financial support for Plaatje to launch the important
Setswana newspaper, Koranta ea Becoana.1The close ties between the Barolong in Mafikeng
and the SANNC were not only maintained through the Molema family but also through the
ruling Montshiwa lineage. John L. Dube, the SANNC’s first President, called upon the
financial assistance of Kgosi Lekoko Montshiwa of the Barolong in funding expenses
incurred by Plaatje in carrying out work for the SANNC. This applied in particular to the
1912 deputation by the SANNC to discuss a range of issues with the colonial government in
Cape Town.2 Plaatje was considered to be a “special representative” of the Barolong by John
Langalibalele Dube, the first president of the ANC.
Dr Modiri Molema, as is well known, was a significant and long-time member and office
bearer in the ANC. He became active in politics from 1936 after the passing of the Hertzog
Bills, which removed the qualified franchise for African voters in the Cape, and his
involvement was extended further in 1940 when Dr A. B. Xuma assumed leadership of the
ANC. He was National Treasurer of the ANC from 1949 until 1953. Arrested for civil
disobedience in the 1952 Defiance Campaign, he was later forced to resign his position as a
member and office bearer of the ANC in September 1953 in terms of the Suppression of
Communism Act of 1950.3
Another important figure was Moses Kotane (1905-1978). He was from the village of Pella,
in the district of Swartruggens where the ba Kwena ba Mmatlaku live. He worked for many
years in Rustenburg before becoming leader of the South African Communist Party.
Although these personalities are renowned, the fact that they lived nearly a century ago
means that many people might no longer be aware of them or their activities in the SANNC.
1 This sketch is taken from the Introduction to the Inventory of the Silas T. Molema and Solomon T. Plaatje
Papers, Historical and Literary Papers Collection, William Cullen Library, University of the Witwatersrand. 2J. L. Dube to Lekoko Montshiwa, 3 November 1911. Silas Molema Collection, Cc9.
3See “Proclamation in Terms of the Suppression of Communism Act…” Minister of Justice, C. J. Swart, 11
September 1953.
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Reference will be made later to heritage sites that reflect this aspect of early ANC history and
how they might be captured in LHR.
2) Rural Struggles
As mentioned the Zeerust Revolt was an important moment in the resurgence of political
activity after the banning of the ANC and other liberation organisations. It is also significant
for the fact that many of its leading participants were women. The revolt has been associated
with women’s resistance to passes However, it had longer term causes relating to the collapse
of the reserves in South Africa, and rural impoverishment. The women of the reserve looked
to the new kgosi Ramotshere Abram Moiloa to co-ordinate resistance to the carrying of
passes, which denied them access to towns and cities at a time when rural production in the
Hurutshe reserve provided less and less economic security.
When Moiloa received the order to enforce the issuing of passes to women in the reserve he
refused to co-operate, setting in motion determined state initiatives to force him to comply.
Ramotshere was deposed and fled eventually to Botswana. His subjects then responded by
burning their passes. The women in the Reserve were supported by Bahurutshe migrant
workers, men from the Witwatersrand who came home to help stiffen the resistance.
Violence broke out and the properties of known collaborators, especially some of the chiefs,
were destroyed. The violence eventually engulfed all villages in the Reserve.
The security forces acted quickly to put an end to the disturbances. This led to the
implementation of brute force against the populace of Moiloa’s Reserve. A mobile police
column was setup, hundreds were arrested and gatherings of over ten people were banned.
The legal representatives of the Bahurutshe engaged the services of a young George Bizos to
defend them. Matters reached a bloody climax on 25 January 1958 when four people were
shot dead in Gopane. It seems that investigating policemen were mobbed and during the
panic shots were exchanged. Those killed may have been innocent bystanders. The shootings
shocked the inhabitants and resistance at this point came to an end. Mass arrests were made
and in all about 200 people were charged with murder. By September, five had been
convicted of assault, 58 of public violence, and the remainder was acquitted.
These events are quite well-known but subsequent developments are not so familiar.
Ramotshere remained in Botswana (then Bechuanaland) for several years during which time
he was active in ANC politics. He had a connection to a number of recruits from Dinokana in
Lehurutshe who subsequently served in the celebrated Luthuli Brigade. These men recall
encountering him both in Botswana and in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, in the late 1960s. For
his part, Ramotshere has been recorded recognition and the Zeerust Municipality is now
named after him, though the facts about his contribution are less well known. As a
consequence of their actions a number of ANC organisers in the Reserve were banished to
other parts of South Africa. They included Kenneth Mosinyi, Nimrod Moagi, David and Boas
Moiloa and Ramodidi Mokgatlhe.
The significance and legacy of the Zeerust Revolt needs much more acknowledgement. The
generalised politicisation and radicalisation of the inhabitants in the ensuing years led to the
formation of underground structures. It was these structures that contributed to the fact that
Nelson Mandela (January -March 1962),Thabo Mbeki (October 1962) and Jacob Zuma (June
1963) chose to leave the country via this route. (Zuma was arrested along with 26 others
before he could make good his escape). But the ‘pipeline’ served to ferry hundreds of recruits
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and activists in and out of the country in the following two decades. Often the first point of
contact they had with the ANC was in Lobatse at the house of Fish Keitseng and his wife,
Masina.
Finally, the politicisation of the Reserve impacted on the youth as well. Thus, in 1963-64,
between fifty and eighty boys and young men from Dinokana and other villages in
Lehurutshe were sent to Botswana to join MK. The majority of those who crossed the border
in this period “were the children of those who bore the brunt of police brutality” in 1957-
1958. 4 There was also an active Zeerust Students Association, many of whom went on to
become activists. One of these men was Abram Tiro, the student leader who was eventually
killed by a parcel bomb sent to him in Botswana by the regime in Pretoria.
3) The Border Landscape
The significance of the proximity of Zeerust and the Bahurutse Reserve just north of it to
Botswana has been discussed above and its significance should be evident by now.
However, another region that has received relatively little focus of attention is the Vryburg
region and surrounding towns. It was here that the Kgalagadi underground was established
and became quite active. The front man for the Kgalagadi underground was Bushy Maape,
whose code name was also Kgalagadi. Maape was a school principal based in Kuruman. The
Kgalagadi “machinery”, as it came to be known, encompassed Vryburg, Kuruman and
Kimberley. Maape was in direct contact with the ANC in Gaborone. In Vryburg there had
been very strong resistance to the incorporation of the Huhudi Township into
Bophuthatswana and this galvanised opposition to Bophuthatswana. Another key figure in
this unit was Darkey Africa who operated out of Vryburg. Much of the efforts of the unit
were directed towards building the UDF in the region. HUCA, the Huhudi Civic Association,
was one of the most formidable of these. Africa, mentioned above, was its publicity secretary,
Hoffman Galeng was the president, Jomo Khasu the secretary, and Khotso Cruitse and
Maape were additional executive members. The unit was particularly successful in organising
the youth in the far northern Cape, parts of which are now in the NWP. Youth structures were
formed in Huhudi, Kuruman, Taung, Ganyesa, and Dinokana (in Lehurutshe). Many of these
operatives, in particular, Maape, Africa and Crutse suffered at the hands of the particularly
brutal Security Police in Vryburg. Each of these men spent time in police custody in which
they were tortured. Documents now made available in ANC archives as well as oral evidence
show just how frequent the contact was between the Kgalagadi underground and the ANC in
Gaborone.
Bophuthatswana
Opposition to the Mangope regime was widespread, and encompassed both urban and rural
situations. The focal points and key issues were:
a) Phokeng: Here the Bafokeng resisted Mangope’s efforts to control their mineral
assets. The kgosi, LeboneMolotlegi, was deposed and his brother, George, a stooge of
Mangope’s replaced him. Many of the Bafokeng leaders, including Lebone’s wife,
Semane, were harassed and forced out of Phokeng. The Bafokeng resisted through
recourse to the courts, and mass action to show their opposition to the
Bophuthatswana regime’s repressive actions.
4 Zondi, ‘Peasant struggles in the 1950s’, p. 174.
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b) Braklaagte and Leeufontein: In 1986 these two villages just north of Zeerust along
the road to the Tlokweng border post, were destined for incorporation into
Bophuthatswana. This triggered strong resistance as they feared they would lose their
South African citizenship and would be cut off from employment and other benefits
in South Africa. The community under the chieftainship, of Kgosi Papsey Sebogodi,
enlisted the support of organisations such as the Transvaal Action Committee (TRAC)
to help them fight their impending removal through the courts. After prolonged
resistance, on 16 June 1989 a meeting in Braklaagte was broken up by the Security
Police, which led to the death of nine Bophuthatswana policemen, burnt alive while
inside a police caspir. Over 50 of the villagers were charged with “common purpose”
murder. The Bophuthatswana security apparatus, with the help of vigilantes, waged a
concerted reign of terror against the inhabitants, many of whom sought refuge on the
neighbouring white-owned farms, or fled into ‘exile’ to Gauteng.
c) Armed Conflict: There were several instances of direct confrontation between
insurgents of the liberation movements on the one hand, and the Bophuthatswana
army or security police, on the other. For example, outside the Witkleigat, close to the
Botswana border in April 1976, an MK unit of six cadres, namely, Dennis
Ramphomane, Patrick Dipoko, Barney Molokwane, John Sekete, a cadre simply
called ‘Ace’ and their commander with the nom de guerre Muzorewa, were involved
in prolonged fire fight with a combined force of the SADF and Bophuthatswana army
personnel.
The 1988 and 1994 coups: As is well known, there were two coups in Bophuthatswana, one
in 1988 which failed because SA in the form of the SADF came to the rescue of the Mangope
regime, and the other in 1994 which toppled him. The Mmabatho stadium was a focus of
activity during both coups.
d) The Winterveld Massacre: Winterveld was a squatter camp close to Mabopane,
within the borders of the former Bophuthatswana. There were many non-Batswana
living there and the Mangope government wanted to drive them out. This awakened
strong resistance from the residents. On March 26 1986, members of the
Bophuthatswana Defence Force shot dead eleven residents attending a meeting in
protest over the police detention of youths in the area. This happened at the local
stadium. About 2,500 people were arrested in the wakes of the shootings.
Subsequently, Brigadier Molope, a disliked figure who was in command at the time of
the shootings, was assassinated in Winterveld.
e) The Hunger Strikers: An interesting and unusual feature of the resistance against
Bophuthatswana was the prolonged hunger strikes of 1991-1993. The hunger strikers
were a group of 143 soldiers imprisoned for the attempted 1988 coup and a number of
political detainees (still imprisoned despite the signing of the Pretoria Minute by
which political prisoners in South Africa were to be released). Had it not been for the
tireless work of the Mafikeng Anti-Repression Forum (MAREF) which publicised
their hunger strike, the plight of these men might have been worse. Eventually, the
hunger strikers were visited at midnight on 12 July, by a delegation comprising
Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, the Deputy-President of the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa,
the Secretary-General. Several men came close to death. By November 11 1991, one
man Bushy Molefe lapsed into a coma another, Johannes Nhlapo, suffered a heart
attack and a third an AZANA member, George Biya was in intensive care. Molefe
subsequently died as a result of complications brought on by the hunger strike.
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Reprisals
The actions of those individuals and groups opposed to apartheid and the Bantustan system
did not go unnoticed or unpunished by the regime’s security apparatus. A number of these are
worth singling out. On 4 May 1983, the Western Transvaal Security Police received
information from a Botswana informer, a certain Andries Moatshe, that he would be
infiltrating two MK members, Skiri Schoeman Ramokgopa (combat name, Solomon
“Kruchev” Mlonzi, and Bushy Voltaire Swartbooi (combat name, Calvin “Marx” Kakhasa),
into South Africa. The men were shot on the South African side of the border by South
African security forces. An account of the incident later to the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC) Amnesty hearings provided a full narrative of the incident. This
happened at a place called Silent Valley in the Derdepoort-Thabazimbi area. The men were
buried as paupers in Tlhabane Township outside Rustenburg. In November 2006, the bodies
of the two men were exhumed and were reburied in Soweto, which was home to both men.
Even more horrifying in their callousness were a series of cold-blooded assassinations that
occurred between March 1986 and August 1987, when MK was stepping up its incursions
through the Botswana border region. The first involved the notorious askari, Joe Mamasela.
In a joint operation with a South African military force, Mamasela, posing as an MK
operative, ostensibly recruited a group of young men, all from Mamelodi, and all in their
teens, to join MK. They were to leave the country and cross over into Botswana. On 26 June,
Mamasela, with the approximately eleven recruits, drove the young men in a kombi to make
their exit from the country. However, near the border, at Nietwerdiend he handed them over
to a waiting group of South Africa’s Special Forces who “forced them out of the kombi,
made them lie on the ground and injected them with a chemical substance”. 5 The men were
forced back into another kombi, driven to another site, where an accident was faked, and the
vehicle set alight. This unit was also involved in kidnapping ANC activists from Mamelodi,
Atterigeville, Brits and Tembisa. Several of these men were killed en route to
Bophuthatswana, the usual method being strangulation on the floor of the vehicle they were
travelling in, or being electrically shocked to death. Whether dead or still alive, the intended
ANC recruits were then taken to remote parts of Bophuthatswana, where they were blown up
with remote controlled limpets or landmines. One man was obliterated by being place on top
of 8 kgs of TNT.
The remains of these unfortunate young men were discovered by villagers and farm workers
in Slagboom on the 16 June 1987, in Buanja village in the Bafokeng district on 24 June, and
in Cyferkuil on 29 August of the same year.
Part 2 – LHR sites
Based on the narrative provided above, a number of sites that could be identified to
commemorate these events can now be suggested.
1) Dr Modiri Molema’s house, Maratiwa
Situated in the Mafikeng stad, Dr Molema’s house was constructed in the 1890s. Born in
1891 in Mafikeng, Molema was educated at Lovedale and the University of Glasgow,
where he graduated as a medical doctor in 1919. He returned to South Africa in 1921 to
5 N. Rousseau, “The Farm, the River and the Picnic Spot: Topographies of Terror”, African Studies, Vol. 68,
Issue 3, (2009), p. 356.
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follow his profession. His practice in the town served all races, until he was forced by the
Group Areas Act to move to the Mafikeng stad. He published three works on the history
of the Barolong. He became active in politics from 1936 after the passing of the Hertzog
Bills, which removed the qualified franchise for African voters in the Cape, and his
involvement was extended further in 1940 when Dr A.B. Xuma assumed leadership. He
was National Treasurer of the ANC from 1949 until 1953. Arrested for civil disobedience
in the 1952 Defiance Campaign, he was later forced to resign his position as a member
and office bearer of the ANC in September 1953 in terms of the Suppression of
Communism Act of 1950.
Maratiwa house, home of the Molema family in the Mafikeng stad.
2) Nye-Nye Tree in Dinokana, near Zeerust
Situated outside the kgotla in the village of Dinokana, this tree was a meeting point at
which the residents planned their strategies during the Hurutshe Revolt of 1957-58.
Thereafter, it served a similar purpose for planning the kind of assistance that could be
given to guerrillas and insurgents to cross the border or seek refuge in Dinokana.
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The Nye-Nye Tree where activists planned both the pass resistance of 1957-58 and
assisted insurgents to leave the country.
3) Railway Station, Zeerust
Many recruits seeking to leave the country went by train to Zeerust. Here they were met by
mainly ANC supporters from the nearby Lehurutshe who assisted them to cross the border.
All of the country’s post-freedom Presidents used this route to escape in 1961 and 1962. And
it was at the Zeerust railway station that current President Jacob Zuma was arrested in June
1963, along with a group of 45 other young militants while trying to escape through
Botswana to go for military training. Zuma was subsequently sentenced to two years
imprisonment on Robben Island.
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This was the scene where Jacob Zuma was arrested when trying to leave the country in June
1963.
4) Onkgopotse Abram Tiro’s Grave, Dinokana
Tiro, who was killed by South African security agents in 1973 started his schooling at
Ikalafeng Primary in Dinokana, until the school was closed during the anti-pass revolt that
engulfed Lehurutshe in the late 1950s. Tiro’s early life story is indicative of the continued
impact of the Hurutshe resistance (discussed in an earlier section of this report) on the
formation of political consciousness for younger generations of political activists
After a short spell at Naledi High School in Soweto, Tiro matriculated from Barolong High in
Mafikeng. He then enrolled at the University of the North (Turfloop) in what was then the
Northern Transvaal and was elected President of the Student Representative Council in 1970-
71. In 1972, he made a famous speech at the university graduation ceremony for which he
was expelled. In his speech Tiro openly attacked the system of Bantu Education and the
university authorities in particular, and concluded by exhorting his fellow black graduates ‘to
bear greater responsibilities in the liberation of our people’.6 Tiro’s expulsion from Turfloop
triggered a series of strikes in solidarity across black campuses in the country.
6 Graduation speech by OnkgopotseTiro at the University of the North, 29 April 1972,
http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/graduation-speech-onkgopotse-tiro-university-north-29-april-1972.
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After he left Turfloop Tiro was recruited as a history teacher at Morris Isaacson High School
in Soweto, which was to play a prominent role in the Soweto uprising of 1976. He was also
involved in the formation of the South African Student Movement (SASM) in 1972 and of
the Black People’s Convention (BCP) in 1973. He also travelled throughout South Africa, as
well as Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, to speak to students about Black Consciousness.
The apartheid authorities, however, were keeping a close watch on all of these activities. First
they had Tiro fired from Morris Isaacson, and then decided to arrest him. Tiro, however,
managed to escape arrest by going to Botswana in late 1973, where he found employment as
a teacher at a school in Kgale, near Gaborone. From Botswana he continued to play a
prominent role in the activities of SASO, SASM and the BCP. He was, however, in
discussion with the ANC in exile and some sources suggest he had switched his alliance to
the ANC. On 1 February 1974, Tiro was killed by a parcel bomb allegedly coming from the
International University Exchange Fund. His death was executed by the Apartheid spy Craig
Williamson and others who had infiltrated the IUEF. In 1998, Tiro’s remains were exhumed
from Botswana and reburied in his home village of Dinokana. His influence on the youth of
Soweto and the rising of 1976 was considerable.
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5) Anglican Church, Zeerust
During the 1957-58 Hurutshe revolt, an Anglican priest in Zeerust, the Rev. Charles Hooper
and his wife Sheila housed and fed hundreds of refugees who fled the Reserve during the
times of troubles. Hooper arranged for legal assistance for these people and provided
information for the legal team. Hundreds of the baHurutshe villagers found refuge in the
Anglican church in Zeerust. Hooper wrote what is still the best account of the affair, in a
book entitled Brief Authority, published in 1960. He and his wife were deported from South
Africa and they went to Swaziland. The Hoopers later moved to London, where he joined the
ANC.
Anglican Church in Zeerust where pass resisters found refuge.
6) Huhudi Township, outside Vryburg
Huhudi became a focal point for resistance to its planned incorporation into the
Bophuthatswana homeland. A Huhudi Civic Association (HUCA) was formed in 1985 and it
later affiliated to the UDF. It was comprised of five significant office-holders. Darkey Africa
was its publicity secretary, Hoffman Galeng was the president, Jomo Khasu the secretary,
while Khotso Cruitse and Bushy Maape were additional executive members. HUCA
essentially sought legal ways of challenging the removal of Huhudi, coupled with a rent
boycott, in which it was ultimately successful-the removal never happened. Perhaps even
more importantly, HUCA stimulated the formation of other civic associations in the vicinity.
A site (maybe Town Hall) should be selected for a commemorative stone or similar symbol.
PHOTO OF HUHUDI TO FOLLOW.
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7) Moses Kotane house in Pella
Kotane was born in this small rural village, home of the baKwena ba Mmatlaku in 1905. He
died in the Soviet Union in 1978. His family were devout Christians. He worked for many
years in Rustenburg and Krugersdorp before joining the South African Communist Party. He
worked initially on the party’s newspaper, Umsebenzi. After studying in the Soviet Union, he
returned to South Africa and in 1938 became Secretary-General of the SACP, a position he
held until his death. He was also a member of the ANC and was a defendant in the Treason
Trial (1956-1961).
PHOTO OF KOTANE’S HOUSE TO FOLLOW
8) Witkleigat (Setswana name, Moshana)
Witkleigat, a village in the far north of the Hurutshe Reserve, close to the Botswana border,
was the scene of the fire fight mentioned above. Here in April 1976,a well armed MK unit
comprising of six cadres, namely, Dennis Ramphomane, Patrick Dipoko, Barney
Molokwane, John Sekete, a cadre simply called ‘Ace’ and their commander with the nom de
guerre Muzorewa. The group was met and led into South Africa by its seventh member,
Kaone Lobelo, who had earlier done a thorough reconnaissance of the area. The unit camped
on a hilltop, not far from the village of Witkleigat. The entire unit was seTswana-speaking,
except for its commander, Muzorewa, who was isiZulu-speaking. The unit had run out of
food and needed to buy some from the village. Four of the unit went out in search of food to
buy, but in two separate pairs. The one pair consisted of Barney Molokwane and John Sekete
who went in a different direction from that of Muzorewa and another cadre (unnamed) who
headed into the village of Moshana. Muzorewa could not speak seTswana well at all, but his
colleague, in fact, originated from Moshana. It was this pair that went into the village to buy
some food from the local store. Unknown to Muzorewa and his comrade, the shop had been
broken into by thieves the previous night. The two men, with Makarovs and hand grenades
concealed on their persons, greeted the saleswoman behind the counter in seTswana, The
woman became suspicious when she realised from his poor seTswana that Muzorewa must be
a “foreigner”.
Clearly, Muzorewa had given himself and his comrade away. One of the people listening in
went out and called the police, who arrived promptly. As it transpired, five policemen (two
whites and three blacks) drove up in a police vehicle with the intention of arresting theft
suspects, not MK guerrillas. The police demanded that they surrender. Muzorewa did, but
Muzorewa ran into a small hut with no windows but one door. Now cornered by five
policemen, he took out a hand grenade and threw it at the advancing policemen. As they ran
away, he bolted out of the hut and escaped from the village. He met up with the rest of his
comrades at their hilltop camp. Early that afternoon, a military helicopter spotted them and
soon afterwards, security forces arrived and fighting broke out. However, most of the unit
managed to escape and made their way back to Botswana.
Interestingly, the skirmish received a short mention in the South African press. The Rand
Daily Mail reported that the Bophuthatswana police operating along the Botswana border had
wounded one man and arrested another in a shoot-out with “terrorists”, during which
“Russian AK 47’s and a quantity of ammunition had been recovered at Witkleigat”.7
7Rand Daily Mail, 5 August 1978
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An LHR site should be identified and a commemorative plaque erected in Witkleigat. In
addition, it should indicate that it was through this region that many people escaped the
country to go into exile.
Witleigat (Moshana) A popular point of exit from and entry into the country through the
hills in the background. Scene also of the 1978 MK – SADF shoot-out.
Odi Hospital Hunger Strikers.
PHOTO OF ODI HOSPITAL TO FOLLOW
9) Mmabatho Stadium Coups of 1988 and 1994.
PHOTO OF STADIUM TO FOLLOW.
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Coup plotters under SADF guard during failed 1988 coup in Bophuthatswana.