Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and 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). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), he was incarcerated on Robben Island, where he served more than 25 years' imprisonment for his activism. He is known for his close partnership with

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 ...

and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

, with whom he played a key role in organising the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the establishment of the ANC Youth League and Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was also on the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

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 N ...

Early life

Sisulu was born in 1912 in Ngcobo in the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tr ...

, part of what is now the Eastern Cape province (then the

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...

). Not unusual for his generation in South Africa, he was not certain of his birthday, but celebrated it on 18 May. His mother, Alice Mase Sisulu, was a Xhosa

domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

and his father, Albert Victor Dickinson, was a

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

civil servant and

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

. Dickinson did not play a part in his son's upbringing: Sisulu reportedly met him only once, in the 1940s, before he died in the 1970s. Sisulu and his sister, Rosabella, were raised by his mother's family, who were descended from the

Thembu The Thembu Kingdom (''abaThembu ababhuzu-bhuzu, abanisi bemvula ilanga libalele'') was a Xhosa-state in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. According to Xhosa oral tradition, the AbaThembu migrated along the east coast of Southern Africa ...

clan. He was close with his uncle, Dyantyi Hlakula, who was passionate about Xhosa culture and who oversaw his

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

. Although he was technically of mixed race, Sisulu identified strongly as

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

and as Xhosa. In his mid-teens, Sisulu left school – an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

mission school – to find work. In

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, 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#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, he worked a range of jobs, including as a bank teller, gold miner, domestic worker, and baker. He was fired from the bakery for trying to organise his co-workers. He founded Sitha Investments in 1939. It was situated at Barclay Arcade between West Street and Commissioner Street in the

business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. Its objective was to help black and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

people buy houses. During its operations, Sitha was the only black-owned real estate agency in South Africa.

Political career

In 1940, Sisulu joined the

(ANC), which had been founded in the year of his birth. The following year,

moved to Johannesburg and was introduced to Sisulu, who by then was well connected among the city's activist class. Sisulu later said, ''I had no hesitation, the moment I met him, that this is the man I need" – the man, that is, "for leading the African people". Sisulu encouraged Mandela to join the ANC, occasionally contributed to his law school tuition, and introduced him to his first wife, Evelyn Mase, who was Sisulu's maternal relative.

1944–1961: Youth League

In 1943, together with Mandela and

, he joined the ANC Youth League, founded by

Anton Lembede Anton Muziwakhe Lembede (21 March 1914 – 30 July 1947) was a South African activist and founding president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He has been described as "the principal architect of South Africa's first full-fle ...

, of which he was initially the treasurer. He later distanced himself from Lembede after Lembede, who died in 1947, had ridiculed his parentage. The Youth League's drive for a more militant posture was given further fuel in 1948, when the National Party (NP) won national elections on a platform of legislating

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 ...

. In December 1949, at the ANC's 38th National Conference, the Youth League leadership carried out a "remarkable putsch", which successfully installed several younger and more militant members onto the party's National Executive Committee – including Sisulu, who was elected ANC

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. The League also tabled a broad Programme of Action, which was notable for its explicit emphasis on

African nationalism African nationalism is an umbrella term which refers to a group of political ideologies in sub-Saharan Africa, which are based on the idea of national self-determination and the creation of nation states.mass mobilisation techniques. The culmination of this new strategy was the 1952 Defiance Campaign of

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, c ...

. Sisulu was on the planning council for the campaign and was arrested for his participation. In December, he and other organisers, including ANC President James Moroka, were found guilty of "statutory communism" under the remarkably broad

Suppression of Communism Act The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribe ...

, but had their sentences – nine months' imprisonment with hard labour – suspended for two years. Sisulu, along with several others, formed part of an ANC delegation to the 1953 World Democratic Youth meeting in Bucharest, Romania; before returning to South Africa, the group also travelled to

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, to London, to Israel, and to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, where Sisulu was part of a meeting with the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

leadership. In 1955, Sisulu, Mandela, and Ahmed Kathrada watched the Congress of the People gathering – which adopted 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 ...

– from a nearby rooftop, unable to attend the meeting because of the banning orders against them. By this time, Sisulu was active not only in the ANC but also, covertly, in the

(SACP).

1961–1963: Umkhonto we Sizwe

Paul Landau, a historian of the ANC, has argued that Sisulu and Mandela were the crucial forces, both intellectually and practically, behind the ANC's "turn to violence" (that is, to armed struggle against the government) at the turn of the decade. When Umkhonto we Sizwe was established in 1961, Sisulu served on its High Command. After 1952, he was jailed seven times in the next ten years, including five months in 1960, and was held under house arrest in 1962. At the

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 ...

(1956–1961), he was eventually sentenced to six years, but was released on bail pending his appeal.

1963–1964: Rivonia Trial

He went underground in 1963, resulting in his wife, Albertina Sisulu, becoming the first woman to be arrested under the so-called 90 Day Act, the General Laws Amendment Act of 1963, which allowed the state to detain suspects for up to 90 days without charging them. He was caught at Rivonia on 11 July, along with Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada and 14 others. At the conclusion of 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 Justic ...

, Sisulu was sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. Part of his testimony during the trial included the commitment:

I wish to make this solemn vow in full appreciation of the consequences it entails. As long as I enjoy the confidence of my people, and as long as there is a spark of life and energy in me, I shall fight with courage and determination for the abolition of discriminatory laws and for the freedom of all South Africans irrespective of colour or creed.

1964–1989: Imprisonment

With other senior ANC figures, Sisulu served the majority of his sentence on Robben Island, though he was later transferred to Pollsmoor Prison. His wife, Albertina Sisulu, was frequently under banning orders – the first from 1964 to 1969 – which prevented her from travelling to

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 ...

to visit him.

1989–1994: End of apartheid

As part of the prelude to the negotiations to end apartheid, Sisulu and other Rivonia Trial defendants were released from prison on 15 October 1989; Sisulu was 77. His return to Soweto was greeted with celebrations in the street, and he told media of his long detention, "It was not possible to despair because the spirit of the people outside was too great". In 1990, he formed part of the ANC delegation to the negotiations with the government which resulted in the Groote Schuur Minute. In July 1991, at the ANC's first national conference since its unbanning the year before, Sisulu was elected ANC Deputy President. It was believed that he had been convinced to accept the job in order to prevent a disruptive power struggle between a younger generation of activists – such as Cyril Ramaphosa,

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

Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993), born Martin Thembisile Hani , was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce ...

– vying for the deputy presidency.

Retirement and death

In 1994, the ANC won a majority in South Africa's first democratic elections and formed a government headed by Mandela, but Sisulu, weakened by age and his long imprisonment, declined to serve in public office. At the ANC's 49th National Conference in December that year, he also declined to run for re-election to the party's leadership. After his retirement, he and his family continued to live in Soweto, where they had lived before the Rivonia Trial. Sisulu died at his home in Soweto on the evening of 5 May 2003, just shy of his 91st birthday, in the presence of his wife. He was given a " special official funeral" on 17 May 2003. Among the tributes he received after his death, Mandela – joking that both he and Sisulu "had long passed the age when either of us would protest against the brevity of life" – said:

Our paths first intersected in 1941. During the past 62 years our lives have been intertwined. We shared the joy of living, and the pain. Together we shared ideas, forged common commitments. We walked side by side through the valley of death, nursing each other's bruises, holding each other up when our steps faltered. Together we savoured the taste of freedom. From the moment when we first met he has been my friend, my brother, my keeper, my comrade.

After Mandela's death in 2013, Mac Maharaj – who had been on Robben Island with both men and later became a cabinet minister – told the media that he had had Sisulu and Mandela write obituaries for each other before 2003, and had kept both.

Personality and public image

His admirers, including Mandela, frequently noted his humility. Those imprisoned with him on Robben Island remarked upon his unflappable calm and patience – as Mandela put it in his autobiography, "He was often silent when others were shouting." After his release from prison, according to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', Sisulu "was always a voice for moderation, preaching the importance of a national reconciliation". Upon his death, Kathrada told the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

:''

I've always said that one can't speak of Mandela without speaking of Sisulu. They complement each other... Mandela was highly respected, highly admired. But I would not be able to say he was as loved as Sisulu was. You know that difference between a father and a leader? That was the big difference between them.

Personal life

In 1944, Sisulu married Albertina, a nurse, whom he had met in 1942 in Johannesburg; Mandela was his best man at their wedding. At the ceremony, Lembede warned Albertina that, "You are marrying a man who is already married to the nation"; Sisulu later recalled, "Even when I married my wife, I told her it was useless buying new furniture. I was going to be in jail." While he was in prison, Albertina became a very important anti-apartheid activist in her own right, with leadership roles in the United Democratic Front and

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

. In 1982, Ruth First paid tribute to their marriage at an ANC celebration for Walter (in absentia) on his birthday, saying, "His capacity to lead and her political strength are... the product of a good marriage, a good political marriage, but a good marriage, one that is based on genuine equality and on shared commitment." Both were born into

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

families, but, asked in 1992 whether they practiced their religion, Albertina replied, "There’s no time, my dear". Together, the couple had five children: Max (born 1945), an ANC politician; Mlungisi, a businessman (born 1948, died 2015); Zwelakhe, a journalist (born 1950, died 2012); Lindiwe (born 1954), also an ANC politician; and Nonkululeko (born 1958). They also

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

three children: two – Beryl, a diplomat, and Gerald Lockman – are biologically the children of Walter's deceased sister; while the third, Jongumzi, is the son of Sisulu's cousin. Jongi served a five-year sentence on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activism in the 1980s, and other family members were also periodically detained. In 2002, Max's wife, Elinor, published a biography of her parents-in-law, entitled ''Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime''.

Awards

In 1992, Sisulu was awarded Isitwalandwe Seaparankoe, the highest honour granted by the ANC, for his contribution to the liberation struggle in South Africa. The government of India awarded him

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

in 1998. In 2004 he was ranked 33rd on

SABC 3 SABC 3 (stylised as S3) is a South African free-to-air public television network owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). It carries programming in English and, few in other South African languages. It has a number of its own r ...

's list of Great South Africans. The Walter Sisulu National Botanic Garden,

Walter Sisulu University Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is a university of technology and science located in Mthatha, East London (Buffalo City), Butterworth and Komani (Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a result ...

and Walter Sisulu Local Municipality are named after him.

References

External links

Video footage of Sisulu's release
(1989)
Mandela's tribute to Sisulu
(2003) * The African Activist Archive Project website includes the audio of a January 198
Interview with Walter Sisulu
conducted in 1954 by George M. Houser of the American Committee on Africa. The website also includes photographs of Sisulu and demonstrations in the U.S. in support of the defendants in the Rivonia Trial.

– dated 15 September 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sisulu, Walter 1912 births 2003 deaths People from Engcobo Local Municipality Xhosa people South African people of Xhosa descent South African people of British descent Coloured South African people Members of the African National Congress Anti-apartheid activists Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs People with Parkinson's disease South African prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Africa People acquitted of treason Inmates of Robben Island UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel