Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu

Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu (10 July 1956 – 6 April 1979) was a South African freedom fighter, struggle activist and operative of the African National Congress (ANC) militant wing, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). He was convicted for his part in the murder of two people and hanged in 1979.

Early years

Mahlangu was born on 10 July 1956. Although often said to have been born in Pretoria, a Mahlangu family spokesperson later corrected his birthplace to Doornkop in Mpumalanga.

Mahlangu is the second of six children. He was primarily raised by his mother, Martha Mahlangu who worked as a domestic worker, as his father largely abandoned the family in 1962.

Mahlangu attended Mamelodi High School up to Standard 9. He was in Standard 8 during the 1976 Soweto uprisings of student-led protests against Bantu Education. His school was closed due to ongoing riots.

Military training

In 1976 Mahlangu flew to Mozambique and spent six months in a refugee camp near Xai Xai. From there he was taken to an African National Congress training camp called "Engineering" in Angola. He was part of a group of MK trainees called the "June 16 Detachment" due to their involvement in the 1976 student protests.

Mahlangu joined a unit of ten men at Funda Camp who received training in sabotage, military combat, scouting and politics.

Arrest

After months of paramilitary training, Mahlangu's unit travelled to Eswatini, where they were given false-bottom suitcases containing ANC pamphlets, guns, ammunition and explosives. On 11 June 1977 Mahlangu and fellow trainees George 'Lucky' Mahlangu and Mondy Motaung (sometimes "Motloung") formed a smaller cell that crossed the border into South Africa and started making their way to Johannesburg with the intention to join protests commemorating the June 16 Uprising.

On 13 June 1977, the three men, each carrying a large suitcase, were at the taxi rank in central Johannesburg on their way to Soweto when a policeman became suspicious and grabbed one of the suitcases. An AK-47 assault rifle and hand grenade fell out. All three men attempted to flee the area and escape the policemen. Mahlangu and Motaung unknowingly fled in the direction of the police station in John Vorster Square. Mahlangu was shot in the ankle and the pair fled into a nearby warehouse. In the ensuing confusion, Motaung shot and killed two warehouse employees, Rupert Kessner and Kenneth Wolfendale, and wounded another two people. Mahlangu and Motaung were arrested while George 'Lucky' Mahlangu evaded capture.

Trial and sentence

Mahlangu's trial started in the Supreme Court on 7 November 1977. His defence team included Ismail Mohamed, S.C., Clifford Mailer and Priscilla Jana. Mahlangu faced two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and various counts of sabotage under the Terrorism Act of 1967.

Although Mahlangu had not fired the shots that killed two civilians, the court found that Mahlangu and Motaung had acted with a common purpose and that it consequently did not matter which of the two had done the shooting and killing. Mahlangu was convicted on all counts, while Motaung had been so severely beaten by police while in detention that he suffered brain injuries and was declared unfit to stand trial.

In terms of South African law at the time, the court was obliged to sentence someone convicted for murder to death unless the accused proved mitigating circumstances. The court found that Mahlangu had failed to do so, and consequently handed down the death sentence. The court refused Mahlangu leave to appeal. His lawyers then asked the Appeal Court for leave to appeal and this too was refused.

Mahlangu was hanged on 6 April 1979. Priscilla Jana was the last of his supporters to see him before his execution and shared his final message: "Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight. My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom." He was one of 133 people executed by the state in that year.

With unprecedented international condemnation of the then-South African Government and to stop protest at his funeral, police buried Mahlangu in Atteridgeville. In 1993, his remains were reinterred in the Mamelodi Cemetery with a plaque bearing his final words.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

South Africa's post-Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission examined the cases of Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motaung and found that both men were responsible for the deaths of Rupert Kessner and Kenneth Wolfendale. It also found both Mahlangu and Motaung guilty of gross human rights violations. Lastly it found both the African National Congress and the commanding officer of uMkhonto weSizwe guilty of gross human rights violations.

Mahlangu's mother testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that she had been unaware of her son's interest in politics and had not been told of his decision to leave the country for military training, only receiving a message to tell her to not look for her son. She later visited him in detention at John Vorster Square. His last note to her was:

Mama, thank you for having been strong to come and visit me and not cry. But where my blood will drop, so many Solomons will grow up because I am innocent.

Legacy

Solomon Mahlangu is commemorated in the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom Square in his hometown of Mamelodi

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