Directors of the Programme, Cde David Maimela and Cde Sibu Majozi;
The Representatives of the Mabuza family;
The leadership of the University of South Africa represented by Prof Meyiwa;
The NEC of the ANC represented by Cde Malusi Gigaba;
The NEC of SASCO led by President Bamanye Matiwane;
Former Presidents of SASCO – Comrades Nale Mashapa, Jacob Mamabolo, Bandile
Masuku, and David Maimela;
The leadership of the ANCYL, COSAS and YCL;
Acting President of the National SRC of UNISA;
SASCO Convocants and former leaders of the student movement;
Comrades and friends of Cde Mandla Mabuza:
Let me once more convey our heartfelt condolences to Cde Mandla Mabuza’s family
and wish them greater strength of spirit as we mourn his passing and celebrate the
phenomenal life of a refined and proud product of the student movement and leader
of a special generation of intellectuals and activists.
On Sunday 27th February 2022, we visited the family of Cde Mandla Mabuza in his
home township of Ackerville in Emalahleni.
Since the untimely departure of President Mandla KaMabuza on Thursday 24th
February 2022, we have been overwhelmed by a sense of grief and consoled by the
outpouring of messages of condolences and tributes.
A lot has been said about Comrade Mandla. Many have testified to Mandla’s artistic
and creative talents, vast intellectual pursuits, political accomplishments, and
outstanding track record as a public servant.
It is an honour to speak on behalf of former Presidents of SASCO.
It is appropriate that we have gathered here at UNISA, both physically and virtually, to
pay tribute to and memorialise Cde Mandla Mabuza under the leadership of SASCO.
UNISA is Cde Mandla’s alma mater. SASCO is the organisation that baptised Cde
Mandla intellectually and forged him into a formidable political persona and ideological
character. I have chosen to focus only on the unique role of the student and youth movement in progressive politics. In this regard, I will endeavour to briefly chronicle how Cde
Mandla Mabuza was shaped by the circumstances of his vocation as a student and
youth activist; and how he, in turn, refashioned student politics and left his own unique
footprints on the radical intellectualism and principled activism of the student and youth
movement. In order to fully appreciate Comrade Mandla’s contribution, we must first seek to
understand the unique role of the student and youth movement in major political
transitions and social transformations that have taken place in the 20th and 21st
century. This will enable us to situate Cde Mandla Mabuza’s brilliance within the
context of the battles waged by the student and youth movement of his generation.
Young people in general and students in particular have a unique place in society:
they have boundless youthful energy and are open to new ideas. These two
characteristics have placed the youth and students in an objective position wherein
they are a source of renewal and radicalisation of political movements and parties that
have been involved in anti-imperialist, anti-colonial, national liberation, and feminist
struggles. Even reactionary, right-wing, and fascist movements invest huge resources
and efforts on winning over young people and students to their causes. No long-term
project of structural change can succeed or survive without paying attention to the
youth and students. It is the student movement that has re-energised and revived moribund liberation movements in Africa, Latin America and Asia and led campaigns against racism,
fascism and Nazism in Europe and North America.
Of course, the student movement had to learn to build alliances and solidarity with
formations academics and blue-collar workers as well as community organisations.
In South Africa, student and youth activists were not only at the centre of the struggles
to overthrow the apartheid order. Students were the driving force in shaping the
posture of the Congress Youth League in the 1940s, the short-lived African Student
Association in the early 1960s, formation of SASO in the late 1960s, launch of COSAS
and AZASO in the late 70s and the launch of SANSCO in the mid-1980s. Students
contributed to the radicalisation of the ANC in the late 1940s and 1950s, as well as its
renewal in the 1970s and 1980s. The merger of NUSAS and SANSCO and the formation of SASCO at the moment of transition to democracy is a result of a long historical process in which progressive forces sought to vigorously influence the ideas of the studying youth and actively recruit and train the most talented as future leaders of the progressive forces.
The student activists have also been the source of new ideas and new energy in the
Alliance and mass democratic movement during the struggle against apartheid and in
the post-1994 period. The ANC, SACP, progressive trade unions and Umkhonto
weSizwe paid lots of attention to the student movement training ground for radical
ideas and principled activism. Two former leaders of the student and youth movement have captured this unique role of the students and youth very well:
• Cde Peter Mokaba, former President of SAYCO and ANCYL, once said to me
young people must not apologise for being radical: “if you are young but you
are not radical or militant, you have wasted your youth. But you must learn,
learn and always learn…”
• On the other hand, Cde Mike Koyana, the last President of SANSCO, would
caution student leaders and activists to avoid being prisoners of thoughtless
rhetoric and empty slogans. He would challenge you to analyse and provide
substantive intellectual arguments about everything around you.
The strength of a progressive student movement should be measured by the calibre
of its intellectuals and quality of its activism relative to the ability to contribute to the struggles for social, environmental and economic justice as well as international
solidarity. Comrade Mandla Mabuza was the grand emblem and profound symbol of the best
traditions of SASCO’s organic intellectualism and principled activism. Having been
properly baptized in the furnace of ideological fire, he became the voice and symbol
of the raging battles and debates about higher education transformation.
He joined SASCO in 1996, during the time of a major transition, huge uncertainty and
contestation about the future of higher education. This was a period of heightened
ideological ferment as the student movement was redefining its role and relationship
with the democratic government.I met Cde Mandla Mabuza in 1996, the year he joined UNISA as a first-year student who was already schooled in COSAS politics. This was the year SASCO was
celebrating its fifth anniversary. We were moving across the country, campus by
campus, introducing the seminal document drafted by the NEC and adopted at the
December 1995 National Congress – Strategic Perspective on Transformation
(SPOT). There were also fierce debates on the Report of the National Commission on
Higher Education (NCHE). The NEC of SASCO had authored a searing critique of the
proposals of the NCHE, warning that this is a deviation from the Freedom Charter and
the beginning of neo-liberal commodification of higher education. SASCO’s views
earned significant respect from many higher education stakeholders and experts.
From 1996, Cde Mandla threw himself heart and soul into these battles and debates
on the transformation of higher education. He had a bit of ‘intellectual arrogance’ that
is so typical of many products of the student movement. Current and former SASCO
activists will understand that the ‘intellectual arrogance’ I am referring to is not directed at the masses. It is rather reserved for leaders and experts who often engage the
student movement with intellectual arrogance or reckless thoughtlessness. SASCO
members have a disdain for leaders who cannot engage on serious intellectual,
ideological, and theoretical questions.
Even President Mandela and President Mbeki knew that the intellectual confidence
and ideological depth in the student movement meant that SASCO had the ability and
audacity to take on any leader or repudiate any idea that was regarded as politically
thoughtless and ideologically unsound.In all engagements with the university authorities and fellow student leaders, CdeMandla Mabuza was a display cabinet of this type of intellectual combativeness,confidence, and methodical approach to political discourse.
Through his own hard work and charm, he earned himself the admiration and
confidence of his generation in a short space of time and was elected the President of
SASCO in 1999. I had the privilege of being invited to come and address that SASCO
National Congress at the University of Zululand and there were intellectual and
ideological fireworks everywhere. Having left the student movement three years
earlier, I had the mistaken belief that SASCO had run out of intellectual stamina and
penchant for debating every speech and every report. I was wrong. Comrades debated
my speech. From 2001 to 2006, I had another opportunity to work with Comrade Mandla Mabuza
when the then Secretary General, Cde Comrade Kgalema Motlanthe, appointed him
the ANC National Policy Coordinator. I was the Provincial Secretary of the ANC and
Mandla wanted me to understand that he was no longer a student leader but a more
finessed public policy guru.
Cde Mandla brought his intellect, hard work, passion, knowledge of public policy and
progressive politics to bear on the work of the ANC at Luthuli House. I must say that I
learnt a lot from him as we worked together on many documents, with comrades like
Febe Potgieter, Naph Manana and Spongy Moodley, under the guidance of Cde Joel
Netshitenzhe and Cde Jeff Radebe.
One of the distinct legacies of Comrade Mandla at Luthuli House is that he was
entrusted with the task of establishing the ANC Policy Institute, which operates at a
beautiful building in Houghton. This is Mandla Mabuza’s legacy.
We travelled together as part of the ANC delegation to several countries such as Cuba
and China. Cde Mandla always punctuated the long distances with a display of his
musical prowess as he changed from revolutionary song to opera with a seamless
transition. He was so full of life, love, and laughter.
We all know that in 2006 Cde Mandla joined the public service and brought all his
talents and energy to bear on the work of national government. Even in government,
he distinguished himself as the type of competent and ethical public servant that our
country sorely desires to accomplish its developmental ambitions and transformative
vision.
We will miss Cde Mandla KaMabuza dearly.
Farewell President!
Long live the spirit of Mandla KaMabuza long live!