Wilton Zimasile Mkwayi (17 December 1923 – 24 July 2004) was an

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 ...

veteran and one of the first six members of Umkonto weSizwe to be sent for military training.

Early life

Wilton “Bri-Bri” Zimasile Mkwayi was born in Chwarhu area near

Middledrift Ixesi (also Middeldrift or Middledrift) is a small town located north-west of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality in Amathole District in an area that was formerly part of the ...

in 1923. His parents were uneducated farmers.Ndlovu, S. and Houston, G. 2008. “The Road to Democracy: South Africans Telling Their Stories”. Online. Accessed 3 September.
/ref> He was one of seven children. Mkwayi started school at age ten in a Presbyterian church building in Keiskammahoek. He had a rural childhood herding sheep and goats, and passing through circumcision school. Mkwayi became a member of the ANC at age 17, after his father, also a member of the ANC, gave him a membership card. He left school in 1943, while World War 2 was ongoing, to work at a dynamite factory in

Somerset West Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...

. Mkwayi left Somerset West for

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 ...

in 1945 to work offloading large trucks and trains; he also worked at the docks.

Political career

On 1 May 1950, he participated in the

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

Youth League’s one-day general strike and stay away across South Africa. He was a leader of the 1952 Defiance Campaign in the Eastern Cape.2013. “Wilton Z. Mkwayi” Online. Accessed 3 September.
/ref> He was also union organiser for the Southern African Textile Workers Union in

in the early 1950s. He worked as treasurer of the

South African Congress of Trade Unions The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was established in March 1955, after right wing unions dissolved the South African Trades and Labour Council in 1954 to ...

(SACTU). He was arrested after 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, ...

for a metal workers' strike and escaped with a fine. Mkwayi was one of the 156 co-accused in the

1956 Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not gu ...

for supporting the

Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats ...

calling for a non-racial democracy and a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

-based economy.The Associated Press. 2004. “Wilton Mkwayi, 81, Prisoner with Mandela for 2 Decades” Online. Accessed 3 September.
/ref> Mkwayi went into hiding during the trial and the 1960

State of Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

while the other defendants were detained, later arrested and tried during 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 able to escape because a policeman mistook him for an ordinary member of the public. He started his exile in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

with

Moses Mabhida Moses Mncane Mbheki Mabhida (11 October 1923 – 8 March 1986) was a South African politician. Mabhida was leader of the South African Communist Party from 1978 until his death in 1986. Biography Mabhida was born in Thornville, Natal to a pe ...

, Ambrose Makiwane and Joe Matthews. From Lesotho he journeyed to

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, Congo,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and the UK to meet the British

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC). The TUC funded his travels to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

to establish contacts for the SACTU. Alongside

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 ...

, Patrick Mthembu and

Joe Gqabi Joe Nzingo Gqabi (6 April 1929 – 31 July 1981) was a South African African National Congress activist, who was the ANC's chief representative in Zimbabwe at the time of his assassination by South African Defence Force in Ashdown Park, Harare (t ...

, Wilton Mkwayi was sent for military training at the Nanking Military School in China. He met

Mao Tse-tung Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (P ...

while in China. They were the first Umkonto weSizwe trainees.Bridgland, F. 2004 “Wilton Mkwayi” Online. Accessed 3 September.
/ref> He returned to Britain after his training where he met

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 ...

. He returned clandestinely to South Africa in 1962 to work underground and lead sabotage operations such as Operation Mayibuye. His most documented disguise was a clerical collar that allowed him to pass for a township preacher. After

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

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 ...

and other co-defendants were arrested on 11 July 1963 and

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 ...

was already in prison, Mkwayi briefly took command of Umkonto weSizwe. He was arrested at his girlfriend’s house in

Orlando West Orlando is a township in the urban area of Soweto, South Africa. The township was founded in 1931 and named after Edwin Orlando Leake, Mayor of Johannesburg from 1925 to 1926. It is divided in two main areas: Orlando West and Orlando East. Histor ...

in 1964, after he was informed upon by a mole within the ANC. He was detained in solitary confinement and subjected to torture while awaiting trial. Mkwayi was charged with

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

and Suppression of Communism Acts, with furthering the aims of communism and conspiring to bring about a violent revolution, allegedly as a member of the new High Command of Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was sentenced in December 1964 in the

little Rivonia Trial The Little Rivonia Trial was a South African apartheid-era court case in which several members of the armed resistance organization Umkhonto we Sizwe faced charges of sabotage. The accused were: Laloo Chiba, Dave Kitson, Mac Maharaj, John Matthe ...

and sent 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 ...

, where he met

and

. During his imprisonment, he was one of three prisoners – along with Mandela and

Mac Maharaj Sathyandranath Ragunanan "Mac" Maharaj (born 22 April 1936 in Newcastle, Natal) is a retired South African politician affiliated with the African National Congress, academic and businessman of Indian origin. He was the official spokesperson ...

– planning to escape during a visit to a dentist in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. They called their escape plan off when they suspected a police trap setting them up for assassination. Mkwayi was released from Robben Island on 15 October 1989. In 1992, he was honoured with the ANC’s highest award,

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 one who wears the plumes of the rare bird.”) awarded to those who have made an outstanding contribution and sacrifice to the liberation struggle. He was elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC in July 1991 and he continued to serve until 1997, when he stepped down due to his ill health. From 1994, he served as a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, continuing to serve as an MP until his death on 24 July 2004. His funeral was held in King William's Town and attended by

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General ...

. His cremation was attended by

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 ...

.2004. “Statement on the death of Wilton Mkwayi” Online. Accessed 3 September.
/ref>

Personal life

In 1985, in a Robben Island Prison Ceremony, he married his childhood sweetheart Ntombifuthi Irene Khumalo and they had two children. She died of cancer in 1987. He married a second time and his wife Patricia Lang-Mkwayi survived him.

Early life

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading