Ashby Solomzi Peter Mda (6 April 1916 – 7 August 1993), also known as A. P. Mda was a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

teacher, lawyer, political activist and co founder of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He was also one of the founders of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.

Personal life

Peter Mda was born the 6 April 1916 in the Herschel District of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. He was given the name “Ashby” as he was born on

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

. He took the name “Peter” after joining the Catholic church.S. Dubow, A. Jeeves. South Africa’s 1940’s: World’s of Possibilities. Juta and Company, 2005 His mother, Mildred Mei, worked as a school teacher and his father, Gxumekelani Charles Mda, was a peasant farmer, headman and local shoemaker.

Education

Mda's parents were members of the

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 th ...

church, however, A.P. Mda and his siblings attended the local Catholic school. Mda later attended other Catholic schools, namely St Francis School in Aliwal North and Mariazell School north of Matatiele. Mda pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Mda also studied law through correspondence courses and eventually graduated with a law degree.

Career

After qualifying as a teacher, Mda was unable to secure employment in the Eastern Cape. He then found work as a gardener and cook in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. He moved to Witwatersrand in an attempt to secure a teaching job teaching but remained unsuccessful. He continued to work in Witwatersrand as a gardener, cook and then a steel foundry. He eventually found a teaching post at Germiston Catholic Primary. He also worked at St John Berchman, a primary school in Orlando, Soweto from 1938. He continued to study through correspondence as to eventually become a lawyer.

Political career

A. P. Mda began his political career at the All African Convention (AAC) meeting in Bloemfontein in 1936. He attended the meeting to cover the proceedings for Umlindi we Nyanga, an

newspaper. A. P. Mda defended the AAC leader, D. D. T. Jabavu, who was suspected of betraying their mandate and having dealings with J. B. M. Hertzog with regards to the Hertzog Bill of 1936. As support for the AAC dwindled, Mda began advocating for African Nationalism which, according to Mda, had excluded non-African groups. Mda then became a supporter of Dr A. B. Xuma and the African National Congress (ANC). Mda participated in the African Teachers Campaign advocating for higher wages in 1940 which was led by the Transvaal African Teachers' Association (TATA). Mda was the chair of the Pimville branch of the Salary Campaign Committee at the next TATA gathering at the Wilberforce institute. Other members of the committee included David Bopane, Edward Manyosi, M. Maubela, M. Kekana, Sydney Maseko and E.S. Molepo. He was also part of the Catholic African Teachers Union (CATU) which was against the wage campaign. Mda later played a pivotal role in the formation of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Mda formed a strong intellectual and political relationship with

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 ...

soon after Lembede arrived in Johannesburg. Mda, Lembede and Jordan Ngubane, assistant editor of the ''Bantu World'', were mandated to draw up the

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

of the ANCYL. Lembede died suddenly on 29 July 1947. Shortly thereafter, Mda was named the acting president of the ANCYL and was formally elected into the position in 1948. Mda set up a working committee consisting of

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 ...

, Walter Sisulu and

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 ...

to manage the activities of the ANCYL. Mda selected Fort Hare to expand their influence as the institution had a strong Black student community. The ANCYL also established branches in Natal and the Cape Province. The Fort Hare branch was officially launched in November 1948. The ANCYL, under Mda's leadership, started the Programme of Action (PA) at the ANC's Cape provincial office in

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 June 1949. The ANCYL adopted the PA. Xuma's term at the helm of the ANC was coming to an end and Mda and other members of the ANCYL started seeking a replacement who would endorse the PA at the following national ANC conference in 1949. Oliver Tambo went to James Moroka's home in Bantu location to encourage him to stand as a presidential candidate. Moroka was elected as president and the PA was adopted in 1949 as the ANC's guiding document. Mda then stepped down from the ANCYL after Moroka's appointment. He continued to work behind the scenes to ensure that the ANC remained committed to its nationalist ideals. Mda later grew weary of Moroka's leadership and wrote public letters of disapproval condemning the ANC leadership in the publication “Bantu World”. Mda noticed a “watering down” of African Nationalism by

and Walter Sisulu as the new leadership started forming multi-racial alliances including Coloured, Indian and White anti-Apartheid organisations.

Political philosophy

Mda was often quoted as supporting a form of African Nationalism which should not be used to justify segregation and separate development. Mda was against the

Communist Party of South Africa 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 Na ...

(CPSA) which was possibly due to his Catholic upbringing. He believed that the CPSA planned to infiltrate and take over the ANC. Mda is also described as the “founding spirit" of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) which broke away from the ANC in 1959. This group included

John Nyathi Pokela John Nyathi "Poks" Pokela (1922 or 1923 – 30 June 1985) was a South African political activist and Chairman of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Early life Born in Herschel in the Transkei region, he was educated at Healdtown Comprehens ...

, Potlako Leballo and Robert Sobukwe. Mda also developed the motto “Serve, Sacrifice and Suffering.” In the early 1990s, Mda, along with the rest of the PAC, was reluctant to join the Convention for the Establishment of Democracy in South Africa, known as CODESA.

Family

His son Zakes Mda was born in the Eastern Cape in 1948. A.P. migrated with his entire family to

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 ...

when he was sent into exile. Mda charged his clients very little for his services throughout his career. His family suffered due to this. They later lived in a township in a house with a rusty corrugated roof, no ceiling and no electricity. Mda died on the 7 August 1993 due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mda, A. P. 1916 births 1993 deaths South African activists African National Congress politicians 20th-century South African lawyers University of South Africa alumni