George Naicker (1 June 1919 – 8 April 1998) was a prominent
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n anti-apartheid activist of Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
descent. He was one of six sons. His mother died while in prison on
Robben Island
Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...
.
Early days with Indian National Congress
Billy Nair, whose association with Naicker dated from 1950 when he was a branch member of the Seaview, Bellair, Hilary and Umhlatuzana area of the Natal Indian Congress, says that Naicker was a delegate to the Congress of the People and joined the
South African Communist Party
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 ...
in 1955/56, i.e. in its illegal period. The party had been banned at the time by the South African government.
Incarceration on
Robben Island
Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...
Prior to his arrest in July, 1963 he was employed as a legal clerk at the late G.S.
Naidoo Naidoo is a South African Indian surname. It is an alternative spelling of Naidu. Notable people with the surname include:
*Ama Naidoo (1908–1993), South African anti-apartheid activist
*Anand Naidoo, South African television anchor
*Beverley Nai ...
's office in Queen Street. While the constitution of the ANC made membership exclusive to Africans, Naicker from his daily work in a legal office knew the mind-boggling quality of the oppression and deprivation visited on African life. Ndabazabantu courts is where you would find Naicker regularly. Long after he went to Robben Island his clients were searching for him not believing that he was in prison.
Sunny Singh (ex-Robben Islander) states that he met Naicker of NIC Youth Congress and was a Youth Delegate to the World Youth Festival (in Hungary).
In 1964, charged with sabotage and other charges, he was sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. He served his 14-year sentence to the day and returned home to further restrictions and house arrest orders on the 28 February 1978. The imposition of punishment by the courts did not satisfy police officers. They imposed further restrictions on his release, while
Archie Gumede
Archibald Jacob Gumede (1914–1998) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, lawyer and politician. Gumede was born in Pietermaritzburg to Josiah Tshangana Gumede, an early African National Congress leader. Archie Gumede led the Natal deleg ...
employed him on his release.
Today many peacetime activists have surfaced, but Naicker through the organisations he worked in challenged the might of the Nationalist party, incurred their wrath and took whatever punishment was meted out. He never capitulated on the Freedom Charter.
MK structures outside the country found that a police agent had infiltrated ANC ranks. It as decided to remove Ebi and Naicker from the country in 1980. The only description of Naicker MK had was his very small feet.
ANC return of home
When
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 ...
started to return home in 1990. Naicker was charged with taking care of the assets of the ANC in Lusaka and elsewhere, in a traumatic period, where some tried to personalize the organisation's possessions. He stayed behind.
George Naicker was a minuscule fellow weighing at most 50 kg and wearing size 4 shoes. He was unassuming, always in the background, never in leadership roles.
On Robben Island, he and Sunny Singh attended to getting the news together. He took part in the celebrations to honour the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
on the 7 November every year under the noses of the warders. He suffered the extreme pain and indignity of a
straitjacket
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer slides their arms into the ...
.
Naicker died in 1998 in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
.
References
STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF VETERAN GEORGE NAICKER
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naicker, George
1919 births
1998 deaths
South African people of Tamil descent
African National Congress politicians
South African Communist Party politicians
Inmates of Robben Island
Natal Indian Congress politicians
South African politicians of Indian descent