Mandela and the failed vision of a united Africa - 2

This week we look at Nelson Mandela in his early involvement in the anti-apartheid war. The white-only government of the ruling National Party had established the Apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged the whites only.

Mandela and his ANC colleagues were now very committed to overthrow this system.

In 1944 Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC), a political party with its main objective was to fight against the Apartheid isolation laws to secure equal rights for people of all color in South Africa.

In April 1944, Mandela participated in mobilizing and founding the youth wing of the ANC - African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and he became a member of the Executive Committee of the ANCYL and ultimately became the President of the ANC youth league.

The young Pan-African Mandela addressing the 1951 Annual Congress ANC Youth League as its President considered freedom fighting for the liberation of South Africa as essentially a pan-African activity and he observed: “…In common with people all over the world, humanity in Africa is fighting the forces of colonialism. In the Gold Coast a situation exists which is capable of being translated into complete victory for the people. In Nigeria are leading to a similar situation.

In French West Africa, the Democratic Rally of African People is leading the people into what is virtually open war against the French imperialists...”

Mandela continued to tell his young colleagues that: “…In Egypt the heroin struggle is being waged which must receive the support of all genuine anti-imperialist forces.

In Uganda the leaders of the Bataka Association who were condemned to fourteen years of imprisonment have had to be released as a result of attitude of the masses.

In Central Africa the people saw through the tricks of the British imperialists who sought to foist a bogus federation scheme on them. History is on the side of the oppressed…”

His involvement grew larger when he was appointed President of the ANC’s Transvaal branch. In 1952 he was involved in the Defiance Campaign that came into fierce confrontation with the Apartheid regime.

Although he was involved in campaigns against the Apartheid regime; Mandela also passed a matriculation examination to become a full-fledged attorney and worked in several law firms to defend people who were aggrieved by the isolationist system of Government.

During this cause of years he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial but the charges against him and others were dropped and they were acquitted.

After acquittal in the Treason Trial, Mandela went underground and began planning a national peaceful strikes.

The ANC and the Pan-African Congress (PAC) took part in a campaign against using IDs (the pass laws) in early 1960.

The Africans burned the IDs that they were legally obliged to carry. On the 21st March 1960 police killed 69 unarmed people in a protest against the pass laws in Sharpeville. The incident brought international condemnation of the government and resulted in rioting throughout South Africa.

A state of emergency was announced and the ANC and the PAC were banned on the 8th April 1960. Mandela and his colleagues were among thousands detained during the state of emergency.

Mandela and his contemporaries turned themselves into guerrilla fighters within South. The Sharpeville killings of 21st March 1960 had infuriated Mandela and his colleagues to wage an underground warfare.

In order to do that, on the 16th December 1961; inspired by the actions of Fidel Castro Cuban Revolution, and the guerilla warfare actions of Che Guevara established the Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) a militant ANC organization that was charged under Mandela to lead the armed struggle by launching violent sabotage campaign against the government.

Dr Kafumu is the Member of Parliament for Igunga Constituency