The Politics of Armed Struggle in Southern Africa

The Wits History Workshop, the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) and South African History Online (SAHO) are hosting this conference on the history and politics of the armed struggle in southern Africa. The conference is being funded by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) with the support of the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS).

In recent years, southern Africa’s armed struggle has been the subject of intense discussions both at the scholarly level and in public discourse, with debates around the relative ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of armed tactics and the transition from non-violent to armed resistance being among the most controversial. Yet these debates need to be grounded in a deeper understanding of the historical context and of the changing internal and international conditions within which the armed struggle emerged and developed over the years. Moreover, with few exceptions, the experiences of former military cadres, particularly at rank and file level, remain untold and undocumented.

The conference seeks to open up new areas of research and new conversations on this topic which, in spite of its historical significance as a key strategy of the liberation movements over many years and carrying a lot of weight in the lives of thousands of people, has remained difficult to document and understand, not least because of its sensitive nature and associated secrecy. One of the conference’s key aims is to provide a space for recounting narratives of the armed struggle from the perspective of its protagonists. A second aim is to make an intellectual contribution to the historiography of the liberation struggle by generating original research and developing new questions and ideas on the armed struggle. Thirdly, the conference aims to foreground the regional dimension of the armed struggle in southern Africa and the reciprocal influence of struggles in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and Angola.

THE POLITICS OF ARMED STRUGGLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
23-25 November 2016, University of the Witwatersrand
(Venue: John Moffat Building and Extension Building, East campus)

PROGRAMME

Wednesday 23rd November
Event: Registration Time: 15:00 – 17:30 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building

OPENING PUBLIC DIALOGUE: ‘The Armed Struggle: Was it Worth It?’ Time: 18:00 – 19:30 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building Speakers: Dumiso Dabengwa, Terry Bell, Ayanda Dlodlo

Thursday 24th November
Time: 08:30 – 9:00 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building Welcome and opening remarks

Time: 9:00 – 9:45 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium First keynote address Jocelyn Alexander: ‘Storied Wars: Personal Narratives and Liberation Struggle Histories’
Time: 9:45 – 10:30 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium Second keynote address: ‘The Hero & the New Intellectual: Writing and the Armed Struggle’ Mandla Langa

Time: 10:30 -10:45 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium Comments & questions

Time: 10:45 – 11:15 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building Tea & Coffee

Time: 11:15 – 12:25 PARALLEL PANELS 1-2-3-4

Panel 1: Strategic and tactical turning points in South Africa’s liberation struggle (part 1) Venue: John Moffat Building Room A2

1. Z.Pallo Jordan and Mac Maharaj: ‘South Africa and the Turn to Armed Resistance’

2. Simon Stevens: ‘The “turn to armed struggle” and the “turn to sanctions”, 1960-1969’

3. Dale McKinley: ‘Umkhonto We Sizwe: A critical analysis of the armed struggle of the African National Congress’ Chair: Tshepo Moloi

Panel 2: Film Screening: Dieci Giorni con i guerriglieri del Mozambico Libero (Ten Days with the Guerrillas in Mozambique’s Liberated Areas) (Dir: Franco Cigarini, 1972), Introduced by Chiara Torcianti Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building

Panel 3: Patriotic History and the Politics of Memory in Namibia and Zimbabwe Venue: John Moffat Extension Building Room 001

1. Joseph Mujere, Joost Fontein and Munyaradzi Elton Sagiya: ‘”Those who are not known, should be known by the country”: Patriotic history, liberation heritage and the politics of recognition in Gutu district, southern Zimbabwe’

2. Henning Melber: ‘Armed Liberation Struggle and the Post-colonial narrative in Namibia’

3. Samukele Hadebe: ‘Challenges in Memorializing ZPRA Legacy’ Chair: Jocelyn Alexander
Panel 4: Military veterans post-liberation Venue: John Moffat Extension Building Room 101

1. Wonga Bottoman: ‘The impact of the negotiated settlement on liberation forces soldiers in South Africa’

2. Frederick Sadomba: ‘Psycho-social strains of Transition for Zimbabwean Excombatants and its Effect on Peace-building and Post-conflict Recovery, 1980 – 2016’

3. Zandisiwe Radebe: ‘Negotiated out of existence: Fanonian mediations on APLA and AZANLA combatants’

4. Fumani Mthembi: ‘From Commissar to Obscurity: The Role of Disorganisation in The Struggle for Liberation’ Chair: Judy Seidman

Time: 12:45 – 13:45 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building Lunch

Time: 13:45 – 15:15 PARALLEL PANELS 5-6-7-8

Panel 5: Strategic and tactical turning points in South Africa’s liberation struggle (part 2) Venue: John Moffat Building Room A2

1. Patrick Mangashe: ‘The armed struggle, the underground and mass mobilisation in South Africa’s border region between 1986-1990 through the experiences of MK cadres’

2. Nkululeko Mabandla: ‘The 1980s student movement and South Africa’s armed struggle’

3. Koni Benson & Asher Gamedze: ‘Re-politicising armed struggle: Notes towards an investigation’ Chair: Sue Rabkin

Panel 6: Biography and Histories of the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Building Rooms A3

1. Tshepo Moloi: ‘”You have to think of tomato sauce”: The life and times of Thembuyise Simon Mndawe, and MK cadre’

2. Christian Williams: Exile Biography and Un-National History: The Story of Kaufilwa Nepelilo’

3. Hugh Macmillan: ‘Jack Simons and armed struggle’

4. Miguel Junior: ‘Agostinho Neto and the armed struggle in Southern Africa (Angola, 1961-1979) Chair: Arianna Lissoni

Panel 7: The Media and Representations of the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Extension Building Room 001

1. Ishmael Makanyisa: ‘The role of the media during the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe from 1966 – 1979’

2. Naitsikile Iizyenda: ‘Defending South West: Paratus and the Power of Persuasion’

3. Garrett Eriksen: ‘Stories, Shadows and Dust: A filmmaker’s experience documenting the stories of SADF veterans of the South African Border War’

4. Ali Khangela Hlongwane: ‘The Place, Image and Legacy of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) as reflected in Azania Combat in contrast to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report’ Chair: Omar Badsha

Panel 8: The Armed Struggle in Poems Venue: John Moffat Extension Building Room 101

1. Helen Douglas: ‘Need I Remind Anyone Again’?

2. Benny Moyo

3. Makhosazana Xaba Chair: Barry Gilder

Time: 15:15 – 15:45 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building Tea & Coffee

Time: 15:45 – 17:15 PARALLEL PANELS: Panels 9-10-11-12

Panel 9: Gendering the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Building Room A2

1. Jefferson Ndimande: ‘The Subaltern Speaks: ZPRA Women Combatants and the Liberation War in Zimbabawe’

2. Jonna Katto: ‘Beautiful Mozambique Haptics of belonging in the life narratives of female war veterans’ Chair: Anne Heffernan

Panel 10: Counterinsurgency and ethnic politics within the armed struggle Venue: John Moffat Building Room A3

1. Garth Benneyworth: ‘Bechuanaland’s aerial pipeline: State surveillance, repression and counter-insurgency, 1960-1964’

2. Lennart Bolliger: ‘The Post-War Life Trajectories and Historical Narratives of Black Namibian and Angolan ExKoevoet and 32 Battalion Members’

3. John Mwangi Githigaro: ‘(Re)visiting the Impact of Ethnic Divisions in the Armed Struggle in Zimbabwe’

4. Calisto Samuel Remedios Baquete: ‘Genesis of Movements of opposition to Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO) in period from 1960 to 1994. The case of COREMO’ Chair: Saneze Tshayana

Panel 11: Film Screening: The Routes to Freedom (presented by Anton Fisher & Patrick Ricketts) Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building

Panel 12: Art and Music in the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Extension Building Room 101

1. Judy Seidman: ‘”National Liberation is necessarily an act of culture”: Visual art of the armed struggle in Southern Africa’

2. Retha Langa: ‘An unruly counter-movement to the armed struggle: The revival of song as a weapon in contemporary South Africa’

3. Paolo Israel: ‘Mueda Massacre: the Musical Archive’

4. Rithuli Orleyn: ‘Banished Struggle Memories Archived In Sound: Amagwijo As Discourse’ Chair: TBC

PUBLIC DIALOGUE: ‘Fighting on Two Fronts: Experience and Practice of Gender Struggle within the Armed Struggle in Southern Africa’ Time: 18:00 – 19:30 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building Speakers: Thenjiwe Mthintso, Raymond Suttner, Makhosazana Xaba, Graca Machel (TBC) Chair: Judy Seidman

Friday 25th November

Roundtable discussion 1: Socialist internationalism and the armed struggle Time: 9:00 – 10:00 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building Speakers: Piero Gleijeses, Hans-Georg Schleicher, Vladimir Shubin Chair: TBC

Time: 10:00 – 11:30 PARALLEL PANELS 13-14-15-16

Panel 13: Fim Screening: Flame (Dir: Ingrid Sinclair, 1996) Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building

Panel 14: Debates over Non-violence and the Turn to Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Building Room A2

1. Robert Skinner: ‘”Ignoring the temper of the people”: the “failure” of non-violence in southern Africa, 1960-1962’

2. Robert Vinson and Benedict Carton: ‘Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Use of International Non-Violence in South Africa’s Turn to Armed Struggle’

3. Conrad Chibango: ‘”Let my people go”: a liberation theology perspective of Zimbabwe’s armed struggle’ Chair: Phil Bonner

Panel 15: Mapping the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Building Room A3

1. Godfrey Maringira: ‘”Underground Operations”: Azania People’s Liberation Army guerrillas in South Africa’

2. Dawne Curry: ‘In the space of the Sexwale trial: Alexandra’s internal; underground and its oiling of the machinery’

3. Jephias Andrew Dzimbanhete: ‘Sources about guerrilla activities in the Rhodesian countryside during Zimbabwe’s armed struggle: the case of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) field reports’

4. Asa Mudzimu: ‘Convivialities, violence and deprivation: War and everyday life in guerrilla camps in Mozambique and Zambia’ Chair: Noor Nieftagodien

Panel 16: Pan-African Solidarities and the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Extension Building Room 101

1. Lazlo Passemiers: ‘The PAC and SWAPO’s participation in the “Congo alliance”, 19631964’

2. Joel das Neves Tembe: ‘The anti-apartheid struggle and Mozambican solidarity’

3. Clinarete Munguambe: ‘Nationalism and Exile in an Age of Solidarity: Military cooperation between ZANU and FRELIMO in Mozambique (1975-1980)’

4. Matteo Grilli: ‘Nkrumah’s role in the armed struggle in Southern Africa (1960-1966)’ Chair: Mandla Langa

Time: 11:30 – 12:00 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building Tea & Coffee

Time: 12:00 – 13:00 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building Roundtable discussion 2: The Historiography of MK Speakers: Janet Cherry, Thula Simpson, Ronnie Kasrils Chair: Stanley Manong

Time: 13:00 – 14:00 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building Lunch

Time: 14:00 – 15.30 PARALLEL PANELS 17-18-19

Panel 17: Southern Africa’s Armed Struggle and the World Venue: John Moffat Building Room A2

1. Kenneth Tafira: ‘Armed Liberation Struggles in Southern Africa and the Global GeoPolitical Order: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola’

2. Benny Moyo: ‘Socialist internationalism and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) – a game-changer’

3. Chiara Torcianti: ‘The struggle continues: Italian reception of the liberation movement in Mozambique’ Chair: Ralph Mathekga

Panel 18: Documenting and Archiving the Armed Struggle Venue: John Moffat Building Room A3

1. Gabriele Mohale: ‘What comes after the struggle?: From the Archive of Ronnie Kasrils’

2. Sylvester Dombo: ‘Running out of time? An evaluation of “Capturing a Fading National Memory Project” in Zimbabwe’

3. Zephanaiah Nkomo: ‘Memorialisation and Archiving the Armed Struggle: The ZAPU/ZPRA Archives’ Chair: Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya

Panel 19: Film Screening: Tribute to the Frontline States (Dir. Barbara King, 2014) Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium

Time: 15:30 – 16:00 Venue: Foyer – John Moffat Building Tea and Coffee

Time: 16:00-17:00 Venue: Dorothy Suskind Auditorium, John Moffat Building Closing remarks
Time: 17:00 – 18:00 Venue: The Atrium, South West Engineering Building Music and Dance Performance by Massacre de Mueda: Makumbusho (Recollections)

Artistic Director: Moisés Bilali

Stage names, performers names and roles: Nangwona – Atanásio Nhussi – Percussionist, singer, main dancer and choreographer Namakwakwa – Valério Mwale – Percussionist, main singer, choir and choreographer Ngwidile – Maurício Nangonga – Dancer, percussionist, singer and choreographer Ntumissana – Constantino Ntumissana – Dancer, singer and choir
(The performance is supported by an ANT Funding Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).)

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