SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF MKMVA, COMRADE KEBBY MAPHATSOE, AT THE 58TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF UMKHONTO WE SIZWE (MK), AT WALTER SUSULU SQUARE IN KLIPTOWN

Date: Monday, 16 December 2019

The President of the Republic of South Africa, and of the ANC, comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, The Secretary General of the ANC, comrade Ace Magashule,

Members of the National Executive Committee of the ANC, Members of the National Executive Committee of MKMVA,

Members of the National Executive Committtee of the ANC Women’s League, Members of the ANC National Youth Task Team (NYTT),

Members of the National Executive Committees of our Alliance partners, Comrades and compatriots,

Today, exactly 58 years ago, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was formed and carried out our first attacks against the then apartheid regime. The statement that MK issued as these attacks commenced, and of which thousands of copies were distributed as a pamphlet to our people throughout the length and breadth of our country, contained the following profound words:

"The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defence of our people, our future and our freedom. The government has interpreted the peacefulness of the movement as weakness; the people's non-violent policies have been taken as a green light for government violence. Refusal to resort to force has been interpreted by the government as an invitation to use armed force against the people without any fear of reprisals. The methods of Umkhonto we Sizwe mark a break with that past."

In this first statement of the High Command of Umkhonto we Sizwe it was made clear that a new phase had been entered into in the struggle against apartheid, and it was stated that the apartheid government's policy of force, repression and violence would no longer be met with non-violent resistance only.

The Nationalist apartheid government had chosen the course of force and massacre deliberately, as it did at Sharpeville. The MK High Command stated that the choice to turn to arms was not their decision; it had been made by the apartheid government which rejected every peaceful demand by the people for their rights and freedom, and answered every such demand with force against the people.

Our MK Founding Manifesto proceeded to make the following profound, solemn, pledge to the people of South Africa:

"Umkhonto we Sizwe will be at the front line of the people's defence. It will be the fighting arm of the people against the government and its policies of race oppression. It will be the striking force of the people for liberty, for rights and for their final liberation!"

This pledge must be read in conjunction with the Oath of Allegiance that every one of us, as soldiers of MK, took when we voluntarily joined:

“I place myself in the service of the people, the movement and its allies.

I promise to serve with discipline and dedication at all times maintaining the integrity and solidarity of Umkhonto Umkhonto we Sizwe, the people’s army.”

Comrades, I deliberately qoute from these historical documents so that we can remind ourselves of how MK was formed, and what the essence of our historical task had always been.

We have allowed the history of MK to be disregarded - even to the point where this important date of the 16th of December, as the birthdate of MK, was hardly still remembered, and it was no longer appropriately celebrated. WE PLEDGE TODAY THAT WE WILL NEVER ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN EVER AGAIN!

To younger generations this day has become only known as the Day of National Reconciliation, but how we historically reached the point where such a day of National Reconciliation could be declared is often forgotten. It is sadly far too often ignored that without the critical contribution of MK, in fighting the apartheid regime, we would never have achieved the establishment of the non-racial constitutional, and human rights based, society that we live in now since 1994.

For the apartheid Nationalist Party regime this day was ‘Dingaan’s Day’, or ‘Bloodriver Day’ in celebration of their vicious victory over the Zulu Impi of King Dingane on the banks of the Ncome River on the 16th of December 1838. They celebrated how they overcame with superior weapons (guns against spears) the valiant efforts of King Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu to protect the ancestral land of his people against the white Boer colonialist land thieves.

A nation that does not remember, honor and celebrate its history is like a tree without roots - it is easily blown over by the slightest wind. The same is true for a nation that does not respect and take care of its liberation war veterans who sacrificed their lives and well- being for our liberation. It is a disgrace and shame that so many MK veterans live in poverty and squalor, and that their needs are not taken care of. As MKMVA we pledge that the unity that we are working towards now, must first and foremost result in the significant and overall improvement of the lives of all ex-MK veterans.

As MK veterans we must for our own sakes, but especially for the well-being of our nation, ensure that we remember and celebrate our rich history, and our very significant contribution to the liberation of our country.

Such remembrance is also not only historical, it is also critical in order for us to understand our current political circumstances, and the long road to freedom that we all still have to walk. It helps us to understand that our liberation struggle is not yet concluded, but that we are still very much in the midst of that liberation struggle. It contextualizes what we mean when we continue to say: Aluta Continua!

It is with this understanding and clarity of purpose that the theme of this 58th Anniversary of Umkhonto we Sizwe is: “United in preserving the history, heritage and legacy of Umkhonto we Sizwe”.

Comrades, it is no coincidence that we have chosen to hold this national anniversary gathering to celebrate the formation of MK, here at the Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown. In doing so, at the very place where Freedom Charter was adopted by the Congress of the People in 1958, MKMVA acknowledges the political ideals that we thought for, and that the armed struggle that we were part of was always determined by the politics of our Mother Body, the ANC, as expressed in the Freedom Charter.

In doing so we also say to our leadership in the African National Congress (ANC) that the ideals of the Freedom Charter must never be watered down or compromised. As liberation soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe we collectively carry in our minds, and battle scarred bodies, the memory of the many comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice, and who laid down their lives in pursuit of those sacred revolutionary ideals.

We remind ourselves, and the African National Congress, that the Freedom Charter states that:

The people shall govern!

All national groups shall have equal rights!

The people shall share in the country’s wealth!

The land shall be shared among those who work it!

All shall be equal before the law!

All shall have equal human rights!

There shall be work and security!

The doors of learning and culture shall be opened!

There shall be houses security and comfort!

There shall be peace and friendship!

As MKMVA members, including our political commissars, gathered here we are clear that none of these great revolutionary ideals have yet been fully realized, and that they can only be realized once the economy of our country is no longer dominated by (primarily white) monopoly capitalist powers that historically have derived their power from our colonial subjugation - such as personified by the battle on the banks of the Ncome (‘Blood’) River.

That is why we have declared in our media statement, that announced today’s Anniversary Celebrations: “[This] is a time when the ANC is being challenged to rise to the occasion to renew its bases for a final assault on the forces of reaction for the total liberation of the poorest of the poor from poverty, joblessness and inequality”.

As MK veterans we say to our Mother Body, the African National Congress, that we have taken seriously the instruction that we have received from the delegates of the 54th National Conference of the ANC to work for unity in the ranks of all ex-MK combatants. We have since worked hard, under the auspices of the Peace and Stability Sub-committee of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC, in order to carry out that Resolution, and this joint MK anniversary celebration is an expression of that process. We also do so because as ex-MK veterans we respect the Oath of Allegiance that we took when we became combatants, and thus will continue to defend the people of South Africa, their unity, and that of the ANC.