Daniel Mogoasha Mokonyane (Mothlabaneng, South Africa, 16 October 1930 – London, 16 October 2010) was a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

political revolutionary and (in exile) writer and legal academic. Latterly residing in London, he was best known for his leadership during the 1957 Alexandra Bus Boycott, one of the most successful single-issue campaigns undertaken during

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

Political activism and professional life

Mokonyane was born in 1930 in Mothlabaneng, near Mahwelereng, in

Limpopo province Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while th ...

. After being expelled from boarding school in Polokwane for being argumentative about politics and the need for equality for all races, he moved to Alexandra Township in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, living in a house owned by his father, to attend school in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. He later majored in economics and philosophy at the University of Witwatersrand. During his time at school, Mokonyane joined the Society of Young Africans (SOYA), a group aligned to the Non-European Unity Movement. He later left SOYA to join the

Movement For a Democracy of Content The Movement for a Democracy of Content was a revolutionary political organisation active in the US from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. With groups in the UK, the United States, West Germany and South Africa, the Movement is best known for publi ...

. He met and discussed with many anti-apartheid leaders, including

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

(

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

) and Robert Sobukwe (

Pan Africanist Congress The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert Sobukwe, that ...

). When the 1957 Alexandra Bus Boycott was announced, in protest against the local bus company's attempt to raise its fares, Mokonyane joined the boycott committee as Publicity Secretary and then later as the Secretary of the Organizing Committee. He was frequently arrested and imprisoned during the campaign against the

pass laws In South Africa, pass laws were a form of internal passport system designed to segregate the population, manage urbanization and allocate migrant labor. Also known as the natives' law, pass laws severely limited the movements of not only black ...

. In 1960, after the

Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of ...

, he was served with a Banishment Order from Alexandra township and fled from South Africa to the United Kingdom. He was appointed to a research position at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He then studied for a law degree at the

, obtained a higher degree in human rights at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

and researched in planning law at the University of Wales. He eventually became a Senior Lecturer in Law at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

in North London, specialising in Jurisprudence. Despite increasing illness, he last visited South Africa in 2009.

Publications

Mokonyane published two books. ''Lessons of Azikwelwa: the Bus Boycott in South Africa'' (1979, second edition 1994) is a first-hand account of the Alexandra Bus Boycott. ''The Big Sell-Out'' (1994) is a vehement critique of what Mokonyane saw as a contemptible failure by the

Communist Party of South Africa The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

and the

(and others) to translate the removal of Apartheid into improving the lot of the masses. Both books were reissued posthumously in 2011, in corrected reprints with new introductory material emphasising their continuing relevance to South African politics, as well as biographical material.

Personal life

While in London, Mokonyane mixed closely with South African musicians in exile, such as

Jabula Jabula (isiZulu: "rejoice") was a musical ensemble of South African people, South African musicians exiled in England during the Apartheid era, led by Julian Bahula. The four musicians who became Jabula met in London, where they were living after l ...

, including his nephew the guitarist Lucky Ranku. Mokonyane's wife, Sue, predeceased him; he is survived by his partner, Mary. A memorial service for him was held in London and he was buried with a traditional funeral in Mahwelereng, where a brother and two sisters live.In 2007 ''

The Sowetan ''The Sowetan'' is an English-language South African daily newspaper that started in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and was freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng Pr ...

'' published an article commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Azikwelwa boycott which erroneously stated that Mokonyane was dead
"Azikhwelwa(sic) was at forefront of struggle"
The mistake was acknowledged on 4 December after Mokonyane phoned the paper
"Mokonyane to ill to return"
However, even recourse to the Press Ombudsman of South Africa did not produce an apology – only, on 21 February 2008, a further acknowledgement of the error and a claim to have been misinformed
"Getting it right"

References

External links

Mokonyane's blog

''Guardian'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mokonyane, Dan People from Limpopo South African activists South African expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Kent Alumni of the University of Wales Academics of Middlesex University University of the Witwatersrand alumni 1930 births 2010 deaths