Walter Sisulu
Walter Sisulu | |
---|---|
James Arthur Calata | |
Succeeded by | Oliver Tambo |
Personal details | |
Born | Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu 18 May 1912 Ngcobo, Cape Province, Union of South Africa |
Died | 5 May 2003 Soweto, South Africa | (aged 90)
Political party | African National Congress |
Spouse | |
Children | |
Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African
Family
Sisulu was born in 1912 in
In his mid-teens, Sisulu left school – an
He founded Sitha Investments in 1939. It was situated at Barclay Arcade between West Street and Commissioner Street in the
Political career
In 1940, Sisulu joined the African National Congress (ANC), which had been founded in the year of his birth.[8] The following year, Nelson Mandela moved to Johannesburg and was introduced to Sisulu, who by then was well connected among the city's activist class. Sisulu later said, ''I had no hesitation, the moment I met him, that this is the man I need" – the man, that is, "for leading the African people".[3] Sisulu encouraged Mandela to join the ANC, occasionally contributed to his law school tuition, and introduced him to his first wife, Evelyn Mase, who was Sisulu's maternal relative.[3][6]
1944–1961: Youth League
In 1943, together with Mandela and
The Youth League's drive for a more militant posture was given further fuel in 1948, when the
Sisulu, along with several others, formed part of an ANC delegation to the 1953 World Democratic Youth meeting in Bucharest, Romania; before returning to South Africa, the group also travelled to Warsaw, Poland, to London, to Israel, and to the People's Republic of China, where Sisulu was part of a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party leadership.[13] In 1955, Sisulu, Mandela, and Ahmed Kathrada watched the Congress of the People gathering – which adopted the Freedom Charter – from a nearby rooftop, unable to attend the meeting because of the banning orders against them.[13] By this time, Sisulu was active not only in the ANC but also, covertly, in the South African Communist Party (SACP).[13]
1961–1963: Umkhonto we Sizwe
Paul Landau, a historian of the ANC, has argued that Sisulu and Mandela were the crucial forces, both intellectually and practically, behind the ANC's "turn to violence" (that is, to armed struggle against the government) at the turn of the decade.[13] When Umkhonto we Sizwe was established in 1961, Sisulu served on its High Command.[14]
After 1952, he was jailed seven times in the next ten years, including five months in 1960, and was held under house arrest in 1962. At the
1963–1964: Rivonia Trial
He went underground in 1963, resulting in his wife, Albertina Sisulu, becoming the first woman to be arrested under the so-called 90 Day Act, the General Laws Amendment Act of 1963, which allowed the state to detain suspects for up to 90 days without charging them.[15]
He was caught at Rivonia on 11 July, along with Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada and 14 others. At the conclusion of the Rivonia Trial, Sisulu was sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. Part of his testimony during the trial included the commitment:
I wish to make this solemn vow in full appreciation of the consequences it entails. As long as I enjoy the confidence of my people, and as long as there is a spark of life and energy in me, I shall fight with courage and determination for the abolition of discriminatory laws and for the freedom of all South Africans irrespective of colour or creed.[4]
1964–1989: Imprisonment
With other senior ANC figures, Sisulu served the majority of his sentence on Robben Island, though he was later transferred to Pollsmoor Prison. His wife, Albertina Sisulu, was frequently under banning orders – the first from 1964 to 1969 – which prevented her from travelling to Cape Town to visit him.[15]
1989–1994: End of apartheid
As part of the prelude to the
Retirement and death
In 1994, the ANC won a majority in South Africa's
Sisulu died at his home in Soweto on the evening of 5 May 2003, just shy of his 91st birthday,[19] in the presence of his wife.[6] He was given a "special official funeral" on 17 May 2003.[20] Among the tributes he received after his death, Mandela – joking that both he and Sisulu "had long passed the age when either of us would protest against the brevity of life" – said:
Our paths first intersected in 1941. During the past 62 years our lives have been intertwined. We shared the joy of living, and the pain. Together we shared ideas, forged common commitments. We walked side by side through the valley of death, nursing each other's bruises, holding each other up when our steps faltered. Together we savoured the taste of freedom. From the moment when we first met he has been my friend, my brother, my keeper, my comrade.[21]
After Mandela's death in 2013, Mac Maharaj – who had been on Robben Island with both men and later became a cabinet minister – told the media that he had had Sisulu and Mandela write obituaries for each other before 2003, and had kept both.[22]
Personality and public image
His admirers, including Mandela, frequently noted his humility.[23] Those imprisoned with him on Robben Island remarked upon his unflappable calm and patience[6] – as Mandela put it in his autobiography, "He was often silent when others were shouting."[3] After his release from prison, according to the Los Angeles Times, Sisulu "was always a voice for moderation, preaching the importance of a national reconciliation".[6] Upon his death, Kathrada told the New York Times:
I've always said that one can't speak of Mandela without speaking of Sisulu. They complement each other... Mandela was highly respected, highly admired. But I would not be able to say he was as loved as Sisulu was. You know that difference between a father and a leader? That was the big difference between them.[3]
Personal life
In 1944, Sisulu married Albertina, a nurse, whom he had met in 1942 in Johannesburg;[24] Mandela was his best man at their wedding.[6] At the ceremony, Lembede warned Albertina that, "You are marrying a man who is already married to the nation";[4][25] Sisulu later recalled, "Even when I married my wife, I told her it was useless buying new furniture. I was going to be in jail."[24] While he was in prison, Albertina became a very important anti-apartheid activist in her own right, with leadership roles in the United Democratic Front and Federation of South African Women. In 1982, Ruth First paid tribute to their marriage at an ANC celebration for Walter (in absentia) on his birthday, saying, "His capacity to lead and her political strength are... the product of a good marriage, a good political marriage, but a good marriage, one that is based on genuine equality and on shared commitment."[24] Both were born into Christian families, but, asked in 1992 whether they practiced their religion, Albertina replied, "There’s no time, my dear".[26]
Together, the couple had five children: Max (born 1945), an ANC politician; Mlungisi, a businessman (born 1948, died 2015);[27] Zwelakhe, a journalist (born 1950, died 2012);[28][29] Lindiwe (born 1954), also an ANC politician; and Nonkululeko (born 1958).[24][30] They also adopted three children: two – Beryl, a diplomat, and Gerald Lockman[31] – are biologically the children of Walter's deceased sister; while the third, Jongumzi, is the son of Sisulu's cousin.[24] Jongi served a five-year sentence on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activism in the 1980s, and other family members were also periodically detained.[24][32]
In 2002, Max's wife, Elinor, published a biography of her parents-in-law, entitled Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime.[33][34]
Awards
In 1992, Sisulu was awarded
See also
References
- ^ Trewhela, Paul (18 July 2017). "ANC and SACP – A history together (and apart)". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Myburgh, James (31 January 2017). "The SACP's secret Moscow papers". Politicsweb. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Obituary: Walter Sisulu". The Mail & Guardian. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Sisulu was mum on father". News24. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lelyveld, Nita (6 May 2003). "Walter Sisulu, 90; Political Leader Helped Shape Anti-Apartheid Fight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Sisulu, Elinor (10 June 2011). "Tribute: Life, love and times of the Sisulus". The New Age. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ a b Beresford, David (7 May 2003). "Obituary: Walter Sisulu". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4314-0578-7. Archivedfrom the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-86975-152-7. Archivedfrom the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
- ^ Hirson, Baruch (1988). "The Defiance Campaign 1952: Social Struggle or Party Stratagem?" (PDF). Searchlight South Africa. 1 (1): 70–102.
- ^ "Defiance Campaign 1952". South African History Online. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ S2CID 143577868.
- ISSN 0031-2746.
- ^ a b Isaacson, Maureen (6 June 2011). "Sisulu: A life well lived". Independent. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-86814-688-8, retrieved 2 November 2022
- ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Anti-apartheid fighter Sisulu dies". BBC News. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Thousands gather for Sisulu funeral". The Mail & Guardian. 17 May 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Mandela, Nelson (6 May 2003). "Tribute to Walter Sisulu". BBC News. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Mandela secretly wrote Sisulu's obit". Sowetan. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "South Africa mourns Sisulu". BBC News. 6 May 2003. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Green, Pippa (1990). "Free at last". Independent. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Albertina Sisulu: The 'Mother' of South Africa's Freedom Fighters Fights On". Los Angeles Times. 19 July 1992. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Lungi Sisulu dies of cancer". Sowetan. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Zwelakhe Sisulu dies". Sowetan. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Hultman, Tami (5 October 2012). "Zwelakhe Sisulu – a Remembrance". AllAfrica. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ "Walter Ulyate Sisulu". South African History Online. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Banda, Chimaimba (31 July 2000). "Sisulus go public with news of Aids death". Independent Online. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Suttner, Raymond (7 February 2003). "A revolutionary love". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- JSTOR 3559461.
Further reading
- Sisulu, Walter; Houser, George M.; Shore, Herb (2001). I Will Go Singing: Walter Sisulu Speaks of His Life and the Struggle for Freedom in South Africa. Robben Island Museum.
- ISBN 9780864866394.
External links
- Video footage of Sisulu's release (1989)
- Mandela's tribute to Sisulu (2003)
- The African Activist Archive Project website includes the audio of a January 1987 Interview with Walter Sisulu conducted in 1954 by George M. Houser of the American Committee on Africa. The website also includes photographs of Sisulu and demonstrations in the U.S. in support of the defendants in the Rivonia Trial.
- Interview with Walter Sisulu by Tor Sellström within the project Nordic Documentation on the Liberation Struggle in Southern Africa – dated 15 September 1995