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John Phala

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South African politician and activist (1924–2009)

John Phala
Member of the National Assembly
In office
June 1999 – May 2009
ConstituencyLimpopo
Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature
In office
May 1994 – June 1999
Personal details
BornMahwidi John Phala
(1924-02-24)24 February 1924
Sekhukhuneland, Northern Transvaal
Union of South Africa
Died30 July 2009(2009-07-30) (aged 85)
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Other political
affiliations		South African Communist Party
NicknameMokgomana

Mahwidi John "Mokgomana" Phala (24 February 1924 – 30 July 2009) was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist from Limpopo. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 1999 and in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2009.

Phala joined the ANC during apartheid in 1953 and rose to prominence during the 1958 Sekhukhuneland revolt. An early recruit to Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, he was convicted of terrorism in 1977 and sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in an MK sabotage operation. He served his sentence on Robben Island until he was released during the negotiations to end apartheid.

Early life and activism

Born on 24 February 1924, Phala was Bapedi from Sekhukhuneland. After apartheid was formally introduced in 1948, he joined the ANC and South African Communist Party; soon after joining the ANC in 1953, he became a fieldworker during Freedom Charter campaign, and in 1955 he attended the Congress of the People, which adopted the charter.

During the same period, in 1954, Phala was a founding member of Sebatakgomo, a political organisation that was formed in Johannesburg by migrant workers from Sekhukhuneland and that went on to play a central role in the 1958 Sekhukhuneland revolt. In the early 1960s, Phala succeeded Lucas Kghapola as chairman of Fetakgomo, the successor organisation to Sebatkgomo.

Phala was an early recruit to MK in 1961 and later led his own underground MK unit in the Johannesburg area, operating in areas such as Moletsane and Naledi. He was arrested for his role in an MK sabotage operation – the attempted derailment of a train on the railway between Johannesburg and Vereeniging – and in November 1977, a court in Springs sentenced him to thirty years in prison for terrorism and unlawful possession of weapons.

He was well behaved and someone who loved people. But should he find out that you were a hypocrite and that you did not commit your life to the party and to the struggle, he would leave you. He would say: 'That is your problem, we are continuing. You will see where your life will end up, you hypocrite!'

– Nelson Diale on Phala's character

He was imprisoned on Robben Island, where he shared a cell with future deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe. Motlanthe admired him as a mentor and later recalled that Phala was "our clock on the island": in the absence of alarm clocks, Phala roused younger prisoners in the morning if they wanted to wake up early for reading or study. Phala did not serve his full sentence but was released during the negotiations to end apartheid.

Legislative career: 1994–2009

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Phala was elected to an ANC seat in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. In the next general election in 1999, he was elected to the National Assembly, representing the Limpopo constituency; he served two terms in his seat, gaining re-election in 2004. James Selfe of the opposition Democratic Alliance, who served with Phala in the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, later recalled that, though he was by then in his 80s, Phala insisted on participating in all of the committee's oversight tours and attending all of its meetings, even when he was unwell.

He retired after the April 2009 general election and died on 30 July 2009.

References

  1. ^ "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. ^ Callinicos, Luli (2004). Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains. New Africa Books. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-86486-666-0.
  3. ^ "Motion Of Condolence (The Late Mr M J Phala)". People's Assembly. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  4. "Memorial for apartheid heroes". News24. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  5. Delius, Peter (1989). "Sebatakgomo; Migrant Organization, the ANC and the Sekhukhuneland Revolt". Journal of Southern African Studies. 15 (4): 614. Bibcode:1989JSAfS..15..581D. doi:10.1080/03057078908708217. ISSN 0305-7070. JSTOR 2636833.
  6. "Terrorism Act Violators Tried". Translations on Sub-Saharan Africa. United States Joint Publications Research Service. 1977. p. 55.
  7. Harvey, Ebrahim (2012). Kgalema Motlanthe: A Political Biography. Jacana Media. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4314-0438-4.
  8. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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