Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001) was a South African

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, military commander, Communist leader who served as the Secretary of Umkhonto we Sizwe, at its inception in 1961. He was also the son of Chief Sikelewu Mbeki and Johanna Mahala and also the father of the former

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 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 ...

and political economist

Moeletsi Mbeki Moeletsi Goduka Mbeki (born 30 November 1945) is a South African political economist and the deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, an independent think tank based at the University of the Witwatersrand, and is a ...

. He was a leader of 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 ...

and 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 ...

. After the

Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justice ...

, he was imprisoned (1963–1987) on charges of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, together 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 ...

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), h ...

Raymond Mhlaba Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) also as well the first premier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his life ...

Ahmed Kathrada Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada (21 August 1929 – 28 March 2017), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African National Con ...

and other eminent ANC leaders, for their role in the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). He was sometimes mentioned by his nickname "Oom Gov".

Early years

Govan Mbeki was born in the Nqamakwe district of the Transkei region and was a part of the Xhosa ethnic group. As a teenager, Mbeki worked as a newsboy and messenger in the cities, and because of this, he saw the poverty urban black Africans lived in, and the constant police raids they endured. He attended

Fort Hare University The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

, completing in 1936 a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and psychology and a teaching diploma. Mbeki met other African struggle leaders while attending the university.

Teacher, trader and communist

For a time Mbeki worked as a teacher, but lost his job because of his political activities. He was a member of the

(SACP, then the Communist Party of South Africa, or CPSA) from the late 1930s, and joined the

in 1935.Colin Bundy, 2012, ''Govan Mbeki'', Johannesburg: Jacana, p. 147 He then set up a

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

store in Idutywa and began a writing career. From 1938 to 1944 he was the editor of ''Territorial Magazine'' / ''

Inkundla Ya Bantu ''Inkundla Ya Bantu'' is a defunct South African newspaper. It was active from the late 1930s until the early 1950s. History ''Inkundla Ya Bantu'' was first published in April 1938 under the name ''Territorial Magazine''. It was renamed in June ...

''. Mbeki left journalism in 1944 and became a government-nominated member of the Transkei Territorial Authorities General Council until 1950. His role in the CPSA/ SACP was clandestine at the time, which helps explain why he received the nomination. Mbeki disparagingly referred to the council as a 'toy telephone': "You can say what you like, but your words have no effect because the wires are not connected to an exchange". In 1948 Mbeki stood as a candidate for the Natives Representative Council but lost the election. When the CPSA/ SACP was banned in 1950 by the

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 ...

government, Mbeki remained in the

(ANC). In 1952 Mbeki was imprisoned together with Raymond Mhlaba and

Vuyisile Mini Vuyisile Mini (8 April 1920 – 6 November 1964) was a unionist, Umkhonto we Sizwe activist, singer and one of the first African National Congress members to be executed by apartheid South Africa. Early life Mini was born in 1920 in Tsomo i ...

for three months in ''Rooi Hel'' ('Red Hell' or North End Prison, Port Elizabeth) for disobeying apartheid laws by participating in the 'Campaign of Defiance against Injustice Laws' (Defiance Campaign). In 1954, a tornado destroyed his store, and Mbeki was dismissed from teaching again (he would lose his job three times, and be blacklisted from others, from the 1930s onwards). Mbeki moved to Port Elizabeth and joined the editorial board of ''

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

'', a prominent leftist newspaper linked to underground CPSA/ SACP networks. Mbeki played a crucial role in ensuring that the pages and columns reflected the conditions, demands, and aspirations of black working-class people, particularly in the countryside. He also worked on the ''Guardian'', ''New Age'', ''Fighting Talk'' and ''Liberation'', and worked with 'Jock'

Harold Strachan Robert Harold Lundie "Jock" Strachan (1 December 1925 – 7 February 2020) was a white South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. He flew for the South African Air Force during the Second World War, trained as an artist, then became Umkh ...

in the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

area, and helped him produce the newsletter ''Izwe Lomzi'' ("Voice of the People"). Mbeki was meanwhile actively involved in the major campaigns of the day, including the revival of the

in the 1940s, the

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, ...

and the Congress of the People.

Armed struggle and Robben Island

In 1960, the ANC was banned, and along with the underground SACP, formed Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which became ANC's armed wing. Mbeki was involved, and, at his urging, Strachan assisted MK by turning his hand to improvised explosive devices based on substances like

potassium permanganate Potassium permanganate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KMnO4. It is a purplish-black crystalline salt, that dissolves in water as K+ and , an intensely pink to purple solution. Potassium permanganate is widely used in the c ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

glycerol Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

and icing sugar. Meanwhile, in November 1962, the then-Minister of Justice,

John Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presiden ...

, banned ''New Age''. When the editorial board came out with its successor publication ''Spark'', Vorster went one step further by banning not the newspaper but its editors and writers. This effectively ended Mbeki's role as editor and journalist in the country. On 11 July 1963, he was arrested with other MK high commanders. In 1964, he was an accused in the

and sentenced to

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 ...

Books

In 1939, Mbeki published his first book, ''Transkei in the Making''. A supporter of the 1950-1961 Pondoland peasant revolt, he wrote the pioneering study of the movement, ''South Africa: The Peasants' Revolt'' from 1958, which was published in 1964. Much of the book is an analysis of the political economy of the Transkei, rather than the revolt itself. Following the

, Mbeki served a long-term on

, during which he managed to run education classes with prisoners, many on

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

theory, and wrote a number of significant analyses jail, which were kept on the island and used for discussions. The surviving copies have since been published. In 1992, he published ''The Struggle For Liberation in South Africa: A Short History'' and in 1996, ''Sunset at Midday: Latshonilangemini!'' FortHareGuitarGovanMbeki

Release and post-apartheid role

Mbeki was released from custody after serving 24 years in the

prison on 5 November 1987. He served in South Africa's post-

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1994 to 1997 as Deputy President of the Senate, and then the Senate's successor, the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ma ...

, from 1997 to 1999. Mbeki died in

on 30 August 2001. He was given

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

during his son's presidency (

Thabo Thabo (Τhα'βω) is a male and female African given name. It is short for "Lethabo" meaning "Happiness" or "Joy". It is a common name for South African men and women. It is most used in seSotho, Setswana and Sepedi r Northern Sothoand by some o ...

) on 8 September 2001. His remains were the subject of controversy in 2006 when plans were made to exhume them, and place them in a museum. These plans were called off after Mbeki's family refused the request.

Awards and honours

Mbeki received an honorary doctorate in the Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam in 1978.''Folia civitatis'', v. 31, no. 18 (24 December 1977) His son Moeletsi attended the ceremony, as Mbeki was imprisoned at Robben Island. Eredoctoraat sociale wetenschappen voor Govan Mbeki (1978)

Eredoctoraat sociale wetenschappen voor Govan Mbeki (1978)

On 26 June 1980, the Secretary General of the then-illegal

Alfred Nzo Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo (19 June 1925 – 13 January 2000) was a South African politician. He served as the longest-standing secretary-general of the African National Congress. He occupied this position (ANC) between 1969 and 1991. He was also ...

, announced the conferring of the

Isitwalandwe Medal Isitwalandwe/Seaparankoe, until 1994 known as the Isitwalandwe Medal, also known as the Isitwalandwe Award and also spelt Isithwalandwe and Isitwalandwe/Seaparankwe, is the highest award given by the African National Congress (ANC) "to those who ...

, the ANC's highest honour, on Mbeki. Mbeki was, however, not present to receive the award, because he was serving a life imprisonment sentence on

. Mbeki received international recognition for his political achievements including the renaming (at Mandela's suggestion) of the recently opened health building at

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

. The Govan Mbeki Health Building was inaugurated in 2001 at a ceremony featuring his son

. The

Govan Mbeki Local Municipality Govan Mbeki Local Municipality (formerly Highveld East Local Municipality) is a South African local municipality situated in the Gert Sibande District Municipality, of Mpumalanga. Secunda is the seat of the municipality. Main places The 2001 c ...

in Mpumulanga is named in his honour. In 2004 he was voted 97th in the SABC 3's Great South Africans. In 2013 a large section of road between Swartklip and Baden Powell Road, running between the neighborhoods of Browns Farm,

Gugulethu Gugulethu is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa and is 15 km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s. History The ...

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon * Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe * Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in S ...

and

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

in Cape Town was renamed Govan Mbeki Road.

References

Notes Citations

External links

Govan Mbeki Archive
at marxists.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Mbeki, Govan 1910 births 2001 deaths People from Mnquma Local Municipality Xhosa people Members of the South African Communist Party Members of the African National Congress Anti-apartheid activists University of Fort Hare alumni South African prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Africa Inmates of Robben Island African National Congress politicians Members of the Senate of South Africa Members of the National Council of Provinces UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel