Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu
‘My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight.’ – Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu
This was fighter against Apartheid Solomon Mahlangu’s last words before he was hanged in 1979.
History of Solomon Kalushi Maghlangu
Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu was an ANC activist from Mamelodi who became an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadre. In 1977, he was wrongfully accused by the apartheid government on charges of murder and terrorism.
Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, born on 10 July 1956 in Doornkop, Middelburg in what was then known a Eastern Transvaal, was barely 20 years old when Soweto school pupils protested against the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
By the end of 1976 many hundreds of youths had been killed, including a 12-year-old schoolboy named Hector Petersen, and more than 2 000 wounded. Thousands more had been prosecuted or detained, and banning orders had been imposed. A large number of South Africans went abroad, often clandestinely, many of them vowing to pursue the struggle. One was Solomon Mahlangu, who left his home one night in great secrecy.
Mahlangu underwent military training as a soldier of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and was then immediately tasked to return to South Africa to assist with student protests being planned to commemorate the 1976 uprising. In early 1977, he and two other MK soldiers, Monty Motloung and George Mahlangu, travelled from Angola to Mozambique, from where they infiltrated South Africa. Mahlangu joined the ranks of the freedom fighters when the racist regime resorted to massacres of black schoolchildren.
Successfully evading the government’s comprehensive security network, they managed to reach Johannesburg unscathed. There, however, they were intercepted by police. An exchange of fire followed in which two civilians were killed. In the confusion George Mahlangu managed to escape, but Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motloung were taken prisoner.
Motloung was so severely assaulted in the process that he was unfit to stand trial, but Mahlangu, although he had not fired a shot during the clash with the police, was charged with murder as an accessory. He was duly found guilty, and on 22 March 1977 was sentenced to death. His response was a defiant shout of “Amandla!’
Mahlangu’s sentence was not carried out immediately, however. His case had aroused widespread international concern, and he spent two years awaiting execution while heavy pressure was exerted on the South African government to commute his sentence and recognise freedom fighters as political prisoners.
The government would not give way, however, and on 6 April 1979, aged 23, Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu was executed, his spirit unbroken by the long time he had spent in the shadow of the gallows.
The Pretoria regime thought that by its massive brutality, it could subdue the resurgence of resistance by the youth of South Africa. But, according to its own accounts, no less than four thousand young men and women left South Africa in the wake of the Soweto massacre to
join the freedom fighters. It executed Solomon Mahlangu in the hope of intimidating the freedom fighters – but if the past is any guide, the death of this young man will only swell the ranks of those who will be persuaded to take up arms, and to refuse to lay them down, until they destroy the system of racist domination.
Many Heads of State and Governments – including several from the Western countries – as well as numerous organizations around the world appealed to the South African regime to spare the life of Solomon Mahlangu. The Secretary-General of the United Nations made three appeals, and the Security Council of the United Nations held an unprecedented meeting to address a unanimous appeal to the Pretoria regime.
Yet, the South African regime went ahead with the execution in defiance of the world, the first execution of a political prisoner in more than ten years.
Remembering Solomon Mahlangu
On 6 April 1993, Solomon Mahlangu’s body was reinterred at the Mamelodi Cemetery, where a plaque states his last words:‘My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight.’
More tributes have been paid in Mahlangu’s memory. A statue of Mahlangu was unveiled in 2005 in Mamelodi and a stamp bearing an image of Mahlangu was unveiled by the South African Post Office to mark the 30th commemoration of his execution on 6 April 2009.
The Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College was established on a dilapidated sisal farm donated by the Tanzanian government to the African National Congress (ANC) in 1979. The 5000 hectare piece of land was located in the city of Morogoro, Tanzania. The area is known as Mazimbu.
It is this commitment to the liberation of South Africa and his unbroken and unbreakable spirit that amongst other factors characterized the essence of the effort of those who were building in Mazimbu and that encapsulated the vision of what was being built in Mazimbu. On completion of the school, it was decided that in remembrance and the spirit of Solomon Mahlangu, it was apt to name this historic institution that was also a beacon of international solidarity and collaboration as the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO).
The Order of Mendi for Bravery in Gold was awarded to Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu (1956 – 1979) for Bravery and sacrificing his life for freedom and democracy in South Africa. The award was collected by Martha Mahlangu (Mother).
Some of Pretoria’s street names were renamed to represent all racial groups, genders and political spectrums, including Afrikaner religious leaders and academics that played an important role in the country’s liberation struggle. The former Hans Strijdom Avenue is now Solomon Mahlangu Drive.
Solomon Mahlangu Square gets R49 million facelift
Re-Launch of Solomon Mahlangu Square freedom Square
We Are the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow
Sources:
South African Department of Military Veterans
The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa
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