Govan Mbeki

Govan Archibald Mvunyelwa Mbeki (9 July, 1910 – 30 August, 2001) was a South African politician, military commander, Communist leader who served as the Secretary of Umkhonto we Sizwe, 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 African president Thabo Mbeki and political economist Moeletsi Mbeki. Quotes You can say what you like but your words have no effect because the wires are not connected to an exchange. Mbeki used this expression to describe the Bunga (Transkei Territorial Authorities General Council), which he regarded as having little real political power. "Once again I saw the poverty of the black Africans. Where I lived - in the city and in the suburbs - police raids were always taking place. Either they wanted to check our passes, or were looking for illegal drink. No other event up till then had provoked my anger as much as those raids and I decided definitely to join the struggle to put an end to such a system. Mbeki recalled his experiences in Johannesburg and explained how witnessing poverty and police raids contributed to his decision to become involved in the liberation struggle. I stand by it. If it means going back to jail, I'll go, but I'm not going to deny my membership of these organisations. He explained that he refused to deny those affiliations even though doing so could have resulted in his return to prison. I was open about my membership, as I was open about it at the trial in Rivonia. Mbeki explained that he had openly acknowledged his membership of the ANC and Communist Party, including during the Rivonia Trial, and therefore saw no reason to deny it after his release. I was answering the questions that were put to me. If anyone says that I should have said no, then one is suggesting that I should have told lies, and I was not going to tell lies. Mbeki was discussing his post-release press conference, where journalists questioned him about his continued membership of the ANC and Communist Party. He explained that he simply answered the questions honestly. The peasants ... had demonstrated to the movement in practice what it had always preached in theory, namely, impoverished peasantry, many of them semi-proletarians, constituted a revolutionary force of immense potential, once organised. In The Peasants' Revolt, Mbeki analyzed the rural uprisings in South Africa and argued that organized impoverished peasants could constitute a significant force in the liberation struggle. External links Category:1910 births Category:2001 births