Shadows of Justice

“There is only one man in the world,
And his name is All men.
There is only one woman in all the world,
And her name is All women! ”

“We are today going down the corridor of time
and renewing our acquaintance with the heroes of Africa’s past – those men and women who nourished the tree of African freedom and independence with their blood; those great Sons and Daughters of Africa who died in order that we may be free in the land of our birth. We rededicate our lives to the cause of Africa, to establish contact, beyond the grave, with the great African heroes and to assure them that their struggle was not in vain. We drink from the fountain of African achievement, to remember the men and women who begot us, to remind ourselves of where we come from and to restate our goals. We draw inspiration from the heroes of Thaba Bosiu, Isandlwana, Sandile’s Kop, Keiskama Hoek and numerous other battlefields where our forefathers fell before the bullets of the foreign invader. We draw inspiration from the Sons and Daughters of Africa who gave all to the cause and were physically broken in the struggle. We are met here, Sons and Daughters of Africa, to take a trowel in our right hand and a shield and sword in our left, to commence the tremendous task of rebuilding the walls of Africa!” Robert Sobukwe

Robert Sobukwe was the leader of the Sharpville uprising, (anti-pass campaign) March 21 1960.
This day is remembered as the police shot peace-ful protesters. Both the P.A.C. and the A.N.C. were banned. Sobukwe was sentenced to three years in prison. In 1963, after completion of his three-year sentence, Sobukwe was detained further by a special Act of Parliament. This empowered the Minister of Justice to prolong the detention of any political prisoner indefinitely.

Robert Sobukwe’s speech before Sharpeville Uprising as transcribed from the authors personal collection:

“Sons and Daughters of the Soil, Remember Africa! Very soon, now, we shall be launching our campaign. The step we are taking is historical, pregnant with untold possibilities. We must, therefore, appreciate our role. We must appreciate our responsibility. The African people have entrusted their whole future to us. And we have sworn that we are leading them, not to death, but to life abundant.
My instructions, therefore, are that our people must be taught NOW and CONTINOUSLY, THAT IN THIS CAMPAIGN we are going to observe ABSOLUTE NON-VIOLENCE.
There are those in our own ranks who will be speaking irresponsibly of bloodshed and violence. They must be firmly told what our stand is.
Let us consider for a moment, what violence will achieve. I say quite POSITIVELY, without fear of contradiction, that the only people who will

benefit from violence are the government and the police. Immediately violence breaks out we will be taken up with it and give vent to our pent-up emotions and feel that by throwing a stone at a Saracen or burning a particular building we are small revolutionaries engaged in revolutionary warfare. But after a few days when we have buried our dead and made moving graveside speeches and our emotions have settled again, the police will round up a few people and the rest will go back to the Passes, having forgotten what our goal had been initially. Incidentally, in the process, we shall have alienated the masses who feel that we have made cannon fodder of them, for no significant purpose except for spectacular newspaper head-lines.
This is not a game. We are not gambling. We are taking our first step in the march to African independence and the United States of Africa. And we are not leading corpses to the new Africa. We are leading the vital, breathing and dynamic youth of our land. We are leading that youth, NOT TO DEATH, BUT TO LIFE ABUNDANT. Let us get that clear. The government, knowing that they stand to gain by an outbreak of violence, may most probably swoop down to the level of employing certain African political renegades to throw a stone at the police from a distance. Our Task Force will, therefore, have to move on either side of every batch to make sure they deal with saboteurs. Any-body who agitates for violence or starts violence whether he belongs to P.A.C. or not, we will regard as a paid agent of the government. Let the masses know that NOW.

The principal aim of our Campaign is to get our-selves arrested, get our women remaining at home. This means that nobody will be going to work. Industry will come to a standstill and the govern-ment will be forced to accept our terms. And once we score that victory, there will be nothing else we will not be able to tackle. But we must know quite clearly, NOW, that our struggle is an unfolding one, one campaign leading on to another in a NEVER-ENDING STREAM – until independence is won.
The white rulers are going to be extremely ruthless. But we must meet their hysterical brutality with calm, iron determination. We are fighting for the noblest cause on earth, the liberation of mankind. They are fighting to retrench an outworn, ana-chronistic vile system of oppression. We represent progress. They represent decadence. We represent the fresh fragrance of flowers in bloom; they represent the rancid smell of decaying vegetation. We have the whole Continent on our side. We have history on our side. WE WILL WIN.
The government will be ruthless. They will probably try to cut us off from one another, censor the press, use their propaganda machinery to malign the leaders, mislead the people and spread falsehoods about the Campaign. Let nobody depend on either the press or radio. I, myself, MANGALISO SOBUKWE, or one of the P.A.C. leaders, acting on my behalf, will call off the struggle, after our demands have been fully met.”

“It is a struggle between Africa and Europe, between a twentieth century desire for self-realization and a feudal conception of authority.”

“You have seen by now what education means to us: the identification of ourselves with the masses. Education to us means service to Africa. In whatever branch of learning you are, you are there for Africa. You have a mission; we all have a mission. A nation to build we have, a God to glorify, a contribution clear to make towards the blessing of mankind. We must be the embodiment of our people’s aspirations. And all we are required to do is show the light and the masses will find the way.”

“We preach the doctrine of love, love for Africa. We can never do enough for Africa, nor can we love her enough. The more we do for her, the more we wish to do. And I am sure that I am speaking for the whole of young Africa when I say that we are prepared to work with any man who is fighting for the liberation of Africa WITHIN OUR LIFETIME.”

“World civilization will not be complete until the African has made his full contribution. Carry with you into the world the vision of a new Africa, an Africa reborn, an Africa rejuvenated, an Africa re-created, young AFRICA.We are the first glimmers of a new dawn. And if we are persecuted for our views, we should remember, as the African saying goes, that it is darkest before dawn, and that the dying beast kicks most violently when it is giving up the ghost, so-to-speak.”