Hambe Kahle, Govan Mbeki

31 August 2001

It was with a deep sense of sadness and shared loss that the National Executive Committee and membership of the ANC learnt of the passing on of Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki in the early hours of Thursday morning. The Mbeki family shares their loss with the nation.

`Oom Gov` - as he was known to many South Africans - was a lifelong warrior against racism, oppression and exploitation. We recall with profound gratitude a life of service and sacrifice.

Govan Mbeki was a leader of the people. Born in Transkei in 1910, he experienced first hand the conditions of rural peasants at a time when the expansion of colonial capitalism was stripping the African people of their land, their livelihoods and their labour. These early encounters with the devastating effects of the colonial and apartheid systems account for his incisive writing about the relationship between migrant labour and capitalist production. They explain too his involvement in political organisation and in a number of local and regional organisations.

Even in the early days of his political involvement, he was respected as "a man of the people". His political activities were accompanied by practical efforts to assist small peasants, encouraging them to form simple co-operatives, to pool their resources and labour to improve production.

Govan Mbeki was an educator. Having completed a teaching diploma, his formal teaching career was cut short as he was repeatedly dismissed for political activities among students and local communities, and for organising workers and trade unions. Yet he never stopped teaching, imparting to those around him an appreciation of learning. His love of education was infectious, influencing many generations of young activists over the years. He had an uncanny ability to give tasks to young activists - whether political or educational - which empowered them to grasp the essentials of struggle.

His passion for books and intellectual debate remains as a powerful antidote to the legacy of `bantu education`, which sought to deprive black South Africans of knowledge, skills and opportunity.

Govan Mbeki was a prolific writer. He recognised the power of the written word as a tool to expose tyranny, and to empower and mobilise an oppressed people. He was capable of translating the social, political and economic reality of apartheid South Africa into words that could be easily grasped. In 1954 he joined the editorial board of New Age, which for the next eight years was to be the only national newspaper serving the liberation movement. Together with other members of the editorial board, he played an immensely important role in ensuring the pages of the paper reflected the conditions, demands and aspirations of the black people.

Mbeki was to write a number of important books, most notably `South Africa: The Peasants` Revolt`, an epic account of the peasant uprisings which took place between 1956 and 1960 in many parts of the countryside. The book, which was begun on rolls of toilet paper and smuggled out while he was awaiting trial under the Explosives Act, earned him international recognition and an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam.

One of his early works, a monograph on co-operatives entitled `Let`s do it together`, was a plain-language guide arising out of his work in assisting small peasants.

His book, `Learning from Robben Island`, was a collection of essays written by Govan Mbeki on Robben Island to arm young activists arriving at the prison to serve the mandatory 5 year sentences imposed under the old Terrorism Act. He also published `The Struggle for Liberation in South Africa` in 1992 and `Sunset at Midday` in 1996.

Govan Mbeki was an organiser and freedom fighter. Even while Eastern Cape editor of New Age, he was immersed in mass political mobilisation, organising branches of the ANC and publicising the movement`s policies. He was Chairman of the ANC in the Eastern Cape and an active member of the underground Communist Party, and was recognised as a master in designing organisational structures.

When the limits of non-violent struggle were exhausted and the decision taken to embark on an armed struggle, Mbeki became one of the key figures in the underground leadership. It was for his activities in Umkhonto we Sizwe that he was arrested together with the other Rivonia Treason Trialists and sentenced to life imprisonment. After his release in 1987, he immediately continued with the work of the ANC, which was still a banned organisation. He became Deputy President of the newly-established Senate following the 1994 democratic elections.

Govan Mbeki was a revolutionary in every sense. At the centre of his being was an unwavering commitment to the emancipation of all oppressed and struggling people. This commitment demanded of him - and his family - great sacrifices. He was subjected to years of state harassment, braved the uncertainty of underground activity, and spent a quarter of a century on Robben Island.

For this the nation owes the Mbeki family a debt of gratitude. To his wife, Epainette, and to his children - who together have carried the burden of a life of service - the people of South Africa say a profound `thank you`.

The selflessness and individual commitment embodied by Govan Mbeki is the cornerstone of every successful revolution. His constant political and intellectual engagement with the challenges of the moment - marrying theory with practice - must continue to serve as a weapon against the calcification of revolutionary thought and the threat of complacency.

It was these qualities that earned him the award of Isithwalandwe, the highest honour the liberation movement can bestow.

We mourn the loss of a great South African, comforted in the knowledge that what made Govan Mbeki great lives on in the struggle in which he was forged and to which he dedicated his live. We pledge to honour his memory by continuing to wage that struggle in the dedicated manner in which, through his actions, he taught us. We dare not fail him.

Kgalema Motlanthe
Secretary General