Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge (27 February 1935 – 19 November 1981) was born in KwaRayi, a rural settlement outside of

King Williams Town Qonce, formerly known as King William's Town, is a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The city is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. Qonce, with a population of around ...

, Eastern Cape. He was a civil rights lawyer, a member of the

African National Congress 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 ...

(ANC) and a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n anti-

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 ...

activist.

Early life

Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge was the eldest son of Johnson Pinti and Hannah Nowise Mxenge. His parents were farmers in KwaRayi. He began his high schooling at Forbes Grant Secondary school in Ginsberg but matriculated from Newell High school in Port Elizabeth in 1956. ona G.V. New Dictionary of South African Biography Mxenge, Griffiths Mlungisi. Online. Accessed 17 August./ref> In 1959, he received a bachelor's degree from

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 ...

majoring in Roman Dutch Law and English. He joined the

African National Congress Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

while he was studying. 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 in

Kliptown Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which form ...

contributed to his political consciousness He enrolled for an LLB degree at the University of Natal but in 1962, the same year he married

Victoria Mxenge Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge (1 January 1942, in King William's Town, Eastern Cape – 1 August 1985, in Umlazi, Durban, Natal) was a South African anti-apartheid activist; she was trained as a nurse and midwife, and later began practising law. ...

. In 1966, his studies were interrupted when he was detained for 190 days. In 1967, he was imprisoned for two years 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 ...

under the Suppression of Communism Act for furthering the aims of 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 ...

. Mxenge's first son, Mbasa, was born while he was in detention.1989. Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge Online. WITS Historical Papers. Accessed 17 August.
/ref> In 1969, Mxenge was released from

and served with a two-year banning order that among other things prohibited him from entering University premises. With the help of the Dean of Law Faculty, the late Professor Tony Matthews, he was still able to complete his LLB and graduate in 1970. His second son, Viwe was born in 1970.

Career

In 1971 Mxenge began serving his articles under Rabie Bugwandeen of the

Natal Indian Congress The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. Gandhi was the H ...

. He was issued with a five-year banning order the same year. In 1974, he was admitted as an attorney of the Supreme Court of South Africa. The following year, in 1975, he opened his own legal practice in Durban. His daughter, Namhla, was also born. He represented members of the African National Congress and other parties. Notably, he defended Joseph Mduli, a member of the

and Umkonto weSizwe, who was brutally murdered. In an unprecedented move, following Mxenge's efforts and international pressure, four policemen were charged with the murder of Mduli.2015. Joseph Mduli. Online. South African History Online. Accessed 17 August.
/ref> Mxenge was later detained for his involvement in the murder case. He was an active member of the Release Mandela Committee and served as a member of the Lawyers for Human Rights. Mxenge was a founding member of the South African Democratic Lawyers Association.

Death

In 1981, Mxenge was assassinated by the

death squad, led by Dirk Coetzee, in

Umlazi Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region. It is the fourth largest ...

township south of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He was abducted before the death squad stabbed him 45 times, beat him with a hammer and slit his throat.1985. Victoria Mxenge and the "act of cowardice" Online. Mail & Guardian. Accessed 17 August.
/ref> His body was found near a soccer field in Umlazi. Four years after her husband's murder,

was shot and hacked to death in front of her children at their

home in

. On 4 November 1996, former

Vlakplaas Vlakplaas (trans. "shallow farm") is a farm 20 km west of Pretoria that served as the headquarters of counterinsurgency unit C1 (later called C10) of the Security Branch of the apartheid-era South African Police. Though officially called S ...

commander, Dirk Coetzee, testified about his involvement in the murder of Griffiths Mxenge. He also asked for amnesty from the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

. Despite protests from Mxenge's family, Coetzee was granted amnesty.1996. Dirk Coetzee Amnesty Application: TRC Knows the Grisly Story. Online. South Africa Press Association. Accessed 17 August.
/ref>

Legacy

Mxenge and his wife were both awarded the Order of Luthuli in Silver by the South African government. His award recognised his contribution to the field of law and the supreme sacrifice he made in the fight against apartheid in South Africa
/ref> The Victoria and Griffiths Mxenge memorial lecture is hosted annually at the University of KwaZulu Natal's Howard College.

External links

ANC archives

References