''Kalushi'' is a 2016 South African film about
Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu
Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu (10 July 1956 – 6 April 1979) was a South African freedom fighter, struggle activist and operative of the African National Congress (ANC) militant wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). He was convicted of murder and hanged in ...
, a nineteen-year-old hawker from the streets of
Mamelodi
Mamelodi, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
Etymology
"Mamelodi" is the name derived from the Sepedi word with the prefix bei ...
, a township outside Pretoria in South Africa.
He was born in Pretoria on 10 July in 1956, the second son of Martha Mahlangu. His father left him in 1962, and from then on only saw him infrequently. His mother was a domestic worker and took sole responsibility for his upbringing. The film is based on a true story.
Plot
Kalushi is brutally beaten by the police. He goes into exile following the
1976 Soweto uprisings to join the liberation movement. He returns from military training in Angola. ''En route'' to their mission, his friend and comrade, Mondy, loses control and shoots two innocent people on Goch Street 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 ...
. Mondy is severely beaten and tortured; Kalushi is forced to stand trial under the common purpose doctrine.
The state seeks the highest punishment from the court, death by hanging. Kalushi has his back against the wall and uses the courtroom as a final battlefield. His sacrifice immortalises him into a hero of the struggle and a national icon of the youth joining
Umkhonto we Sizwe.
Cast
References
External links
*
2016 films
Apartheid films
South African drama films
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
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