Govan Archibald Mvunyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001) was a South African

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, military commander, Communist leader who served as the Secretary of

Umkhonto we Sizwe uMkhonto weSizwe (; abbreviated MK; ) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to brin ...

, at its inception in 1961. He was also the younger son of Chief Skelewu Mbeki and Johanna Mabula and also the father of the former

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n president

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

and political economist Moeletsi Mbeki. He was a leader of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded on 12 February 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), and tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by t ...

and the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

. After the

Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in apartheid-era South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, after a group of anti-apartheid activists were arrested on Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia. The farm had been the secret location f ...

, he was imprisoned (1963–1987) on charges of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, together with

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC ...

Raymond Mhlaba Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba OMSG (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) who became the first premier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his ...

, Ahmed Kathrada and other eminent ANC leaders, for their role in the ANC's armed wing,

(MK). He was sometimes mentioned by his nickname "Oom Gov".

Early years

Govan Mbeki was born in the Nqamakwe district of the Transkei region and was a part of the Xhosa ethnic group. As a teenager, Mbeki worked as a newsboy and messenger in the cities, and because of this, he saw the poverty urban black Africans lived in, and the constant police raids they endured. He attended Fort Hare University, completing in 1936 a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and psychology and a teaching diploma. Mbeki met other African struggle leaders while attending the university.

Teacher, trader and communist

For a time Mbeki worked as a teacher, but lost his job because of his political activities. He was a member of the

(SACP, then the Communist Party of South Africa, or CPSA) from the late 1930s, and joined the

in 1935.Colin Bundy, 2012, ''Govan Mbeki'', Johannesburg: Jacana, p. 147 He then set up a

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

store in Idutywa and began a writing career. From 1938 to 1944 he was the editor of ''Territorial Magazine'' / '' Inkundla Ya Bantu''. Mbeki left journalism in 1944 and became a government-nominated member of the Transkei Territorial Authorities General Council until 1950. His role in the CPSA/ SACP was clandestine at the time, which helps explain why he received the nomination. Mbeki disparagingly referred to the council as a 'toy telephone': "You can say what you like, but your words have no effect because the wires are not connected to an exchange". In 1948 Mbeki stood as a candidate for the Natives Representative Council but lost the election. When the CPSA/ SACP was banned in 1950 by the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

government, Mbeki remained in the

(ANC). In 1952 Mbeki was imprisoned together with Raymond Mhlaba and Vuyisile Mini for three months in ''Rooi Hel'' ('Red Hell' or North End Prison, Port Elizabeth) for disobeying apartheid laws by participating in the 'Campaign of Defiance against Injustice Laws' (Defiance Campaign). In 1954, a tornado destroyed his store, and Mbeki was dismissed from teaching again (he would lose his job three times, and be blacklisted from others, from the 1930s onwards). Mbeki moved to Port Elizabeth and joined the editorial board of ''

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

'', a prominent leftist newspaper linked to underground CPSA/ SACP networks. Mbeki played a crucial role in ensuring that the pages and columns reflected the conditions, demands, and aspirations of black working-class people, particularly in the countryside. He also worked on the ''Guardian'', ''New Age'', ''Fighting Talk'' and ''Liberation'', and worked with 'Jock' Harold Strachan in the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipal ...

area, and helped him produce the newsletter ''Izwi Lomzi'' ("Home Voice"). Mbeki was meanwhile actively involved in the major campaigns of the day, including the revival of the

in the 1940s, 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 in South Africa, 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conferenc ...

and the Congress of the People.

Armed struggle and Robben Island

In 1960, the ANC was banned, and along with the underground SACP, formed

(MK), which became ANC's armed wing. Mbeki was involved, and, at his urging, Strachan assisted MK by turning his hand to improvised explosive devices based on substances like

potassium permanganate Potassium permanganate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KMnO4. It is a purplish-black crystalline salt, which dissolves in water as K+ and ions to give an intensely pink to purple solution. Potassium permanganate is widely us ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

glycerol Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pha ...

and icing sugar. Meanwhile, in November 1962, the then-Minister of Justice,

John Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983), better known as John Vorster, was a South African politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state president of So ...

, banned ''New Age''. When the editorial board came out with its successor publication ''Spark'', Vorster went one step further by banning not the newspaper but its editors and writers. This effectively ended Mbeki's role as editor and journalist in the country. On 11 July 1963, he was arrested with other MK high commanders. In 1964, he was an accused in the

and sentenced to

Robben Island Robben Island () 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 language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

Books

In 1939, Mbeki published his first book, ''Transkei in the Making''. A supporter of the 1950-1961 Pondoland peasant revolt, he wrote the pioneering study of the movement, ''South Africa: The Peasants' Revolt'' from 1958, which was published in 1964. Much of the book is an analysis of the political economy of the Transkei, rather than the revolt itself. FortHareGuitarGovanMbeki

Following the

, Mbeki served a long-term on

, during which he managed to run education classes with prisoners, many on

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

theory, and wrote a number of significant analyses jail, which were kept on the island and used for discussions. The surviving copies have since been published. In 1992, he published ''The Struggle For Liberation in South Africa: A Short History'' and in 1996, ''Sunset at Midday: Latshonilangemini!''

Release and post-apartheid role

Mbeki was released from custody after serving 24 years in the

prison on 5 November 1987. He served in South Africa's post-

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1994 to 1997 as Deputy President of the Senate, and then the Senate's successor, the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the post-apartheid constitution of South Africa, constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate of South Africa# ...

, from 1997 to 1999. Mbeki died in

on 30 August 2001. He was given

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

during his son's presidency ( Thabo) on 8 September 2001. His remains were the subject of controversy in 2006 when plans were made to exhume them together with Raymond Mhlaba's remains, and place them in a museum. These plans were called off after both Mhlaba and Mbeki's family refused the request.

Awards and honours

Mbeki received an honorary doctorate in the Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam in 1978.''Folia civitatis'', v. 31, no. 18 (24 December 1977) His son Moeletsi attended the ceremony, as Mbeki was imprisoned at Robben Island. On 26 June 1980, the Secretary General of the then-illegal

, Alfred Nzo, announced the conferring of the Isitwalandwe Medal, the ANC's highest honour, on Mbeki. Mbeki was, however, not present to receive the award, because he was serving a life imprisonment sentence on

. Mbeki received international recognition for his political achievements including the renaming (at Mandela's suggestion) of the recently opened health building at

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University, informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley (), is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and Glasgow Polytechnic (originally Glasg ...

. The Govan Mbeki Health Building was inaugurated in 2001 at a ceremony featuring his son Thabo. The Govan Mbeki Local Municipality in Mpumulanga is named in his honour.

Order for Meritorious Service The Order for Meritorious Service is a South African National Order that consisted of two classes, in gold and silver, and was awarded to deserving South African citizens. The order was discontinued on 2 December 2002.SABC 3's Great South Africans. In 2013 a large section of road between Swartklip and Baden Powell Road, running between the neighborhoods of Browns Farm,

Gugulethu Gugulethu is a township in Western Cape, South Africa and is around 20km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride / our hope.'' The area was the third township to be established in Cape Town, a ...

, Nyanga and Crossroads in Cape Town was renamed Govan Mbeki Road.

References

Notes Citations

External links

Govan Mbeki Archive
at marxists.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Mbeki, Govan 1910 births 2001 deaths People from Mnquma Local Municipality Xhosa people Members of the South African Communist Party Members of the African National Congress South African anti-apartheid activists University of Fort Hare alumni South African atheists South African Marxists South African prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Africa Inmates of Robben Island African National Congress politicians Members of the Senate of South Africa Members of the National Council of Provinces UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Mbeki family