Flag Marutle Boshielo (born 1920; disappeared 20 August 1970) was a South African

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid, apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. He went into exile with the

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 ...

(ANC) after the party was banned in 1960 and served as political commissar of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) from 1969 until his disappearance in 1970. He went missing in August 1970 during an unsuccessful MK operation after his contingent was ambushed. He is presumed to have died in 1970 or soon afterwards.

Early life and activism

Boshielo was born in 1920 in Phokoane in

Sekhukhuneland Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a natural region in north-east South Africa, located in the historical Transvaal zone, former Transvaal Province, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named afte ...

in the former

Northern Transvaal Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

. In his 20s, he moved to

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 ...

, where he found work as a gardener and later as a driver for a bakery. He became active in the

trade union movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

and joined 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 ...

(CPSA) and

(ANC). During the ANC's 1952

Defiance Campaign The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, ...

, he led the first corps of Johannesburg volunteers in their civil disobedience, and he worked for the CPSA's newspaper, the ''Guardian''. He was also a founding member of Sebatakgomo, a resistance movement formed by Sekhukhune migrant workers in Johannesburg that went on to play a central role in the 1958 Sekhukhuneland revolt. Boshielo was renowned as a prolific recruiter to the CPSA and ANC. Among those he recruited was his close friend

John Nkadimeng John Kgwana Nkadimeng (12 June 1927 – 6 August 2020) was a South African politician, anti-apartheid activist and South African ambassador in Cuba. Nkadimeng was awarded the Order of Luthuli in 2003 by President Thabo Mbeki and Isitwalandwe in ...

. Around 1957, Nkadimeng and Boshielo met with

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 ...

on a fortnightly basis to discuss politics. Nkadimeng later recalled that Boshielo and Mandela often had vociferous arguments: while Mandela wanted

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

activists excluded from leadership positions in the

anti-apartheid struggle The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...

, Boshielo supported a non-racialist position inspired by

materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...

analysis.

Exile and disappearance

In the early 1960s, Boshielo went into exile with the ANC, which was banned by the apartheid government in 1960. He received political and military training in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

as a recruit to Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the new joint armed wing of the ANC and CPSA, and then joined MK at its Kongwa camp in Tanzania. At the ANC's 1969

Morogoro Conference The Morogoro Conference was a consultative conference held by the South African African National Congress (ANC) in Morogoro, Tanzania, from 25 April to 1 May 1969. The organisation had not held a large-scale meeting of its membership since it was ...

, Boshielo was the foremost defender of a new proposal to open ANC membership to people of all race groups. The proposal was adopted and, in addition, Boshielo was appointed as MK's overall political

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...

. Boshielo disappeared on 20 August 1970 during an MK operation which aimed to infiltrate a small group of cadres across

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

into Sekhukhuneland. The group was ambushed while crossing the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

near the

Caprivi Strip The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is surrounded by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a sin ...

, and two other cadres died in a shoot-out. Speaking at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

in 1971, ANC president

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education Oliv ...

, calling for a pan-African campaign to find and rescue Boshielo, said that he was presumed wounded and captured. Boshielo is presumed to have died at Caprivi or in subsequent detention in Rhodesia. In April 2005, post-apartheid president

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

awarded him the

Order of Luthuli The Order of Luthuli is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003, and is granted by the President (government title), president of South Africa, for contributions to South Africa in the following fields: (i) the struggle for ...

in Gold "for his exceptional contribution to the struggle for liberation and workers' rights". He is also the namesake of the Flag Boshielo Dam in

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost 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 the provincial legislature is ...

(present-day Northern Transvaal).

References

1920 births 1970s missing person cases People from Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality African National Congress politicians South African Communist Party politicians UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel South African trade unionists South African revolutionaries {{DEFAULTSORT:Boshielo, Flag Members of the Order of Luthuli