Fort Calata (5 November 1956 – 27 June 1985) was a

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

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the polici ...

and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985.

Early life

Fort Calata was born on 5 November 1956. He is the grandson of James Calata, one of the founding members of the South African Native National Congress.

James Calata James Arthur Calata (1895 – 1983) was a South African priest and politician. He was the Secretary-General of the African National Congress from 1936 to 1949. He was appointed a canon of the Grahamstown Cathedral making him the first Black c ...

was also Secretary General from 1936 to 1949. Fort Calata started school in 1963 when he went to St James, then proceeded to Macembe Lower Primary and then Nxuba Higher Primary. He completed his matriculation at Cradock Secondary School. He joined a band called the ''Ambassadors'' in 1972 and became its drummer and guitarist. He met Nomonde Calata in 1974 and they married in 1980. Calata completed his Secondary Teachers Diploma at Lennox Sebe Teachers College, now known as Griffiths Mxenge College. His specialties were Accounting, Business Economics and Afrikaans.

Work and politics

Calata started work in 1979 at Dimbaza High School in

Ciskei Ciskei (, or ) was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people-located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the India ...

. Together with some teachers at the school, they formed a burial society which served as an underground cell. He was arrested in 1980 together with 32 students for his political activities and was detained for a month. Calata taught

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

and Xhosa for standards 6 and 7 at Sam Xhali Secondary in 1981. He met Matthew Goniwe and they became friends and comrades. In 1983, the Cradock Youth Association (CRADOYA) was launched and Calata became its secretary. Their first task was to stand against what they deemed were unfair rental systems that were proposed by the Eastern Cape Administration Board. In November 1983, Calata was part of the ‘’’Release Mandela Campaign’’’. His wife, Nomonde Calata, lost her job at the Cradock Provincial Hospital after she was found wearing the campaign t-shirt. She was charged with 3 months in prison or a fine of R800. In December 1983, he received a letter from the government notifying him of his removal from permanent staff at Sam Xhali and placed on probation for 12 months. In January 1984, students started a boycott after they learned of the expulsion of Goniwe from Sam Xhali. Due to Calata’s involvement in politics and relations with Goniwe, he was also targeted by the security police. Calata was then detained on 31 March 1984 together with Matthew Goniwe, Mbulelo Goniwe and Fezile Madoda Jacobs. They were detained at Diepkloof Prison which was previously known as Fort Prison. This was the same place his grandfather was detained in during the Treason Trial in 1956. Calata was informed on 21 August while in detention that he was dismissed from his teaching post due to violating the Education Act of 1979. That same month, the community launched a week long boycott of white owned shops in protest against the detention of community leaders. Calata and 10 others were then released on 10 October 1984. Upon his release, he continued his political activities and was involved in mass actions against apartheid education and other discriminatory laws including Black Local Authorities, the

Tricameral Parliament The Tricameral Parliament, officially the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, was the legislature of South Africa between 1984 and 1994, established by the South African Constitution of 1983, which gave a limited political voice to t ...

and influx control.

Death and memory

On 26 June 1985, during the celebration of 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 Democra ...

, Calata addressed a crowd at Lingelihle community hall. The following day Calata, Goniwe,

Sparrow Mkhonto Sparrow Mkonto (24 December 1951 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life and education Sparrow Mkonto was born on 24 December 1951 in Bho ...

and

Sicelo Mhlauli Sicelo Mhlauli (25 May 1949 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life Sicelo Mhlauli was born on 25 May 1949 at Emagqomeni Location in Crad ...

drove to

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, S ...

to attend a United Democratic Front meeting. They did not return home and their burnt car and mutilated bodies were found a week after their disappearance. Calata died of stab wounds to his chest on 27 June 1985 near Bluewater Bay in Port Elizabeth. At that time, Nomonde Calata was six months pregnant with their daughter, Thumani. A funeral was held for Goniwe, Calata, Mkhonto and Mhlauli on 20 July 1985 where

Allan Boesak Allan Aubrey Boesak (born 23 February 1946) is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and politician and anti-apartheid activist. He was sentenced to prison for fraud in 1999 but was subsequently granted an official pardon and reinstated ...

, Beyers Naudé and Steve Tshwete gave keynote addresses. A message from the then president of the ANC

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 ...

was read. A memorial was erected in honour of The Cradock Four Calata was awarded the Order of Luthuli by the

n Presidency for “Outstanding contribution and dedicating his life to a free, just and democratic South Africa”.

References

External links

Biography of Fort Calata at thecradockfour.co.za

About the Cradock four at cradock4.co.za

The story behind the Cradock Four picture at heraldlive.co.za
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calata, Fort 1956 births 1985 deaths Anti-apartheid activists Deaths by stabbing in South Africa Xhosa people Members of the Order of Luthuli