The ANC declared 2020 as the year of celebrating the life and contribution to the struggle of former Natal Midlands ANC leader Harry Themba Gwala, known as the Lion of the Midlands (Ibhubesi laseMgungundlovu). He would have turned 100 years old on 30 July 2020 had he lived. He sadly died on 20 June 1995.

Known affectionately as M’tomdala (older person) or Mdala for short, he led the ANC in the Natal Midlands region during a difficult period. He was released from Robben Island on 26 November 1988 due to ill health, having contracted motor neuron disease and lost the use of both arms. Mdala had been serving his second term on the island. He had first spent eight years in prison during the 1960s and was released in 1972, to be arrested again in 1976. He did not enjoy his new-found freedom. He went from the proverbial frying pan straight into the fire that was the devastating conflict in the Midlands region and other parts of the province.

To understand Mdala’s anger and the militancy that characterised his life in the late 1980s and early 1990s, one needs to look into the environment that he worked in during that period. Between around 1987 and 1994, the apartheid state unleashed violence on black residential areas in Pietermaritzburg and surrounds. The city became the focal point of vicious and intense destabilisation. Almost every village and township was affected. The violence also spread to other parts of the Midlands, such as Table Mountain, Estcourt, Newcastle, Greytown, Mooi River, Richmond as well as Howick and towards the south in Cato Ridge.

The apartheid regime labelled the conflict as “black-on-black violence”. The direct involvement of the apartheid state was confirmed in 1992 when Captain Brian Mitchell and seven policemen were convicted and sentenced for killing 11 people and wounding others on 15 October 1988, in Trust Feed in New Hanover near Pietermaritzburg.

Mdala’s key task after being elected chairperson of the Midlands ANC was to rebuild ANC structures following the unbanning of the organisation. He criss-crossed the region launching new ANC branches. He used the meetings to deliver political education through his speeches to the new members. He was a renowned political educator and theorist. Meetings with him often turned into a political education class. He could also impressively engage audiences in debates on Marxism-Leninism eloquently in isiZulu, no mean feat given the absence of isiZulu terminology for many of the concepts.

His interview in isiZulu on the future of socialism following the fall of Eastern Europe, conducted on 12 March 1991 by former Presidency Director-General Cassius Lubisi, is priceless. It is fortunately archived online. Lubisi was then a young SACP activist and student leader at the University of Natal and worked closely with Mdala. Although an atheist, Mdala also knew the Bible inside out and quoted extensively from it in his public addresses.

The Midlands region became the killing fields of then Natal and the murderers were hardly ever arrested. National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) trade unionist Jabu Ndlovu, her husband Jabulani Ndlovu and their daughter were brutally shot and killed at their home in Imbali township on 21 May 1989. The following year, one of the most horrific attacks, the Seven-day war, took place on 25-31 March 1990 in the Edendale/Vulindlela area. Two hundred people were killed with 20,000 displaced.

In an interview with Lubisi by academic Ruth Lundie conducted on 24 July 1995, Lubisi recalled how Mdala risked his life and was caught up in the crossfire in Ashdown township on one of the days. Mdala had been told to stay at home and had refused to do so, and even with bullets flying around him in Ashdown, he still refused to leave the township, saying: “No, let’s not go. If we die, let’s all die here.” Lubisi relates another occasion in Estcourt when they were fired at by warlords and Mdala refused to duck or get away, saying it was important to understand what opponents were doing in order to be able to plan a counter-offensive. The youth admired the fact that Mdala was willing to risk his life to be with them when they faced life-threatening situations, said Lubisi.

The killings persisted. In February 1992, Skhumbuzo Ngwenya, United Democratic Front regional secretary, was shot dead after attending a meeting in the Pietermaritzburg city centre. In October 1992, the Midlands ANC deputy chairperson and spokesperson Reggie Hadebe was assassinated. He was returning from peace talks with the IFP in Ixobho. He had been travelling with John Jeffery, who is now the Deputy Minister of Constitutional Development, and then ANC Midlands regional secretary and former Member of Parliament Shakes Cele, who sadly died on 25 July 2020. Jeffery also served as the ANC’s legal representative in addition to being a member of the regional executive committee. The assassination hit Mdala very hard as he had been working closely with Hadebe.

The story of the Seven-day war remains unfinished. Blade Nzimande, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister who was regional executive committee member and spokesperson of the Midlands ANC at the time of the attack, wrote in 2010 during the 20th anniversary of the Seven-day war:

“We still hope that one day those policemen, who were perched at the then notorious police HQ Davies Alexander House, will have the courage to tell us about their role in the Seven-day war. Much as we do not want to open old wounds given the peace we now have … at the same time our history needs to be properly told as part of honouring those who fell during this period.”

In another brazen and gruesome attack, on 25 February 1991, the president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) Inkosi Mhlabunzima Maphumulo was assassinated in the driveway of his home. I had worked closely with him and Inkosi Phathekile Holomisa, who is now the Deputy Minister for Correctional Services. As a reporter on the local newspaper the Echo, I had accompanied them to Lusaka, Zambia, in 1989 where they met the ANC leadership, Jacob Zuma, Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani and Steve Tshwete, among others, to discuss the mobilisation of traditional leaders to advance the struggle in rural areas.

As we were still reeling from the assassination, I was approached by one Sipho Madlala, who “confessed” to having killed Inkosi Maphumulo on the orders of local security police. The story was a page one lead on the Natal Witness newspaper where I worked then as political reporter. The man was also interviewed by S’bu Mngadi, then a journalist on City Press and now a senior corporate executive. An ANC security and intelligence team interviewed the man, tasked by former president Jacob Zuma, who headed ANC intelligence then. The Madlala “confession” turned out to be full of holes. Inkosi Maphumulo had been spearheading peace efforts in Table Mountain and surroundings.

The killings persisted. In February 1992, Skhumbuzo Ngwenya, United Democratic Front regional secretary, was shot dead after attending a meeting in the Pietermaritzburg city centre. In October 1992, the Midlands ANC deputy chairperson and spokesperson Reggie Hadebe was assassinated. He was returning from peace talks with the IFP in Ixobho. He had been travelling with John Jeffery, who is now the Deputy Minister of Constitutional Development, and then ANC Midlands regional secretary and former Member of Parliament Shakes Cele, who sadly died on 25 July 2020. Jeffery also served as the ANC’s legal representative in addition to being a member of the regional executive committee. The assassination hit Mdala very hard as he had been working closely with Hadebe.

As the violence escalated and claimed more lives, Mdala became angrier and more frustrated. He disagreed with ANC Headquarters in Johannesburg on the appropriate response. ANC HQ promoted peace talks with Inkatha to contain the violence. Mdala was sceptical of the talks and dubbed as omaxhawulana (the hand shakers), all those who promoted them. He argued that they were out of touch with what was happening on the ground. His view was that promoting self-defence was a more meaningful response.

Among the high-level national peace initiatives undertaken was the summit held in Durban on 29 January 1991 led by President Nelson Mandela, who was then deputy president of the ANC, and then president of the IFP Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Mdala attended the talks. He travelled to Durban with then SACP General-Secretary Chris Hani, who had spent the night at his Dambuza home. I was privileged to be given a surprise lift to work by them on the day on Edendale Road as I waited for a kombi taxi. They were not optimistic about the outcome of the talks but had been directed to attend by Madiba.

The adverse situation in the Midlands brought out the best in Mdala. His magnetic connection with the people became a distinct feature of his period as chairperson of the Midlands ANC region. He empathised with the people and gave them hope. He was a born orator and mass rallies that he addressed boosted the morale of supporters. These were peppered by Lubisi’s spirited leadership of the toyi-toyi and Thami Mseleku’s beautiful melodic voice leading the freedom songs. Mseleku, who is now South Africa’s High Commissioner to Nigeria and former director-general of the Department of Health, was then a member of the Midlands regional executive committee and part of the leadership that worked closely with Mdala. 

Madiba, with whom Mdala is reported to have had ideological sparring sessions on Robben Island, understood that Mdala would express his views even if they went against the official positions. In his moving eulogy at Mdala’s funeral on 1 July 1995, Madiba recalled fondly how the two of them had clashed on various issues.

Mdala’s message was always unambiguous and direct:

“Fight fire with fire, if they come with guns, don’t give them Bibles, don’t sing hallelujah, banikeni isigwagwagwa (give them the sound of gunfire)”.

Anger at apartheid policemen was also expressed in typical Mdala fashion. He once became very irritated when he saw police at the stadium where he was due to speak and shouted:

“Akeningibambele elilodwa nililethe la, ngiligxobe ngezinyawo”. (Grab one of them and bring him here. I want to stomp on him with my feet).

John Jeffery (who was affectionately called Jabulani Jeffery by Mdala) would look visibly worried, pondering the legal implications.

Former SACP general secretary Charles Nqakula, who used to come to Maritzburg regularly during the conflict, described Mdala’s oratory aptly in his tribute in 1995. He said:

“Even in his last years, with his arms disabled, his neck encased in a brace, when Gwala stood up in a meeting instant silence would descend … Maybe you were going to agree, maybe disagree … but you knew that you were going to hear fireworks.”

Some called Mdala a “warlord” because of his war talk. However, Madiba understood the sharp tongue. He said in the eulogy at Mdala’s funeral in Pietermaritzburg on 1 July 1995:

“If Mphephethwa was sometimes too blunt, it is because he knew that the enemies of the people were spending sleepless nights to plot the undoing of their organisation. If he was at times too harsh, it is because the system he opposed had treated him with such inhumanity and disdain.”

The Midlands ANC rallies were also from time to time attended by Chris Hani and Winnie Mandela. Peter Mokaba joined a few of the rallies. Mdala adored their support and felt that they understood what the Midlands region was going through.

Hani also came to Pietermaritzburg regularly as general secretary of the SACP to work on rebuilding SACP structures with Mdala, Nzimande, Lubisi and former public enterprises minister Ben Martins. Hani’s tragic and painful assassination on 10 April 1993 dealt Mdala a heavy blow politically and personally. He delivered a brief but very powerful tribute at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg the night before the funeral. He had been irritated by commentary that followed the assassination, which painted a Hani he said he didn’t know, one who was not a soldier or a communist, and he sought to correct the narrative.

After Hani’s passing, a dejected Mdala would often begin his speeches at mass rallies by saying “babebathathu lababantu, kwakuwu-Harry Gwala, kuwu-Chris Hani no-Winnie Mandela. Manje akasekho u-Chris Hani” (There used to be three people, Harry Gwala, Chris Hani and Winnie Mandela. Now Chris Hani is no more”). He felt dejected, lonely and alone. He felt more alone and was deeply hurt when he was suspended by the SACP for six months in 1994.

After the 1994 elections, Mdala became a member of the provincial legislature and was appointed ANC chief whip. He had lived to see the national general elections in 1994, which ushered hopes of a national democratic society that he had sacrificed a lot for. He was, however, unhappy with some of the compromises that were made during the transition to democracy and had spoken out against them. He had also been outspoken about his disagreement with the notion of turning the SACP into a mass party, arguing instead for the maintenance of the vanguard party status as the debate raged in light of the fall of socialism in Eastern Europe. He argued his case for a vanguard party strongly in the African Communist, 4th Quarter edition in 1991. He also opposed the suspension of the armed struggle.

Madiba, with whom Mdala is reported to have had ideological sparring sessions on Robben Island, understood that Mdala would express his views even if they went against the official positions. In his moving eulogy at Mdala’s funeral on 1 July 1995, Madiba recalled fondly how the two of them had clashed on various issues. He said Mdala had been “brave and blunt in dealing with the defenders of apartheid. But he was equally honest and blunt in raising issues within the ranks of the liberation movement. You would know where Mphephethwa stood on any question … Personally, I was fortunate to cross swords with him on many an issue, both in prison and outside. I would naturally insist that I was right; as Harry would definitely insist that he too was right. But the abiding lesson from all this is that none of us emerged from such debates poorer in knowledge; in appreciating issues from different angles, and indeed in forging an enriched understanding of struggle. Such is the unique strength of the ANC.”

The Lion of the Midlands roars no more, but his legacy as a committed, selfless and resilient leader who was rooted among the people will always remain. DM