Govan Mbeki
| Govan Mbeki | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki 9 July 1910 Mpukane Location, Nqamakwe district, South Africa |
| Died | 30 August 2001 (aged 91) South Africa |
| Occupation | anti-apartheid activist |
| Spouse(s) | Epainette Mbeki |
| Children |
Thabo Mbeki Moeletsi Mbeki |
Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001) was a South African politician and father of the former South African president Thabo Mbeki and political economist Moeletsi Mbeki.
He attended Fort Hare University, completing in 1936 a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and psychology and a teaching diploma. Mbeki met other African struggle leaders there. He worked for a time as a teacher but lost his job because of his political activities. He became a clandestine member of the communist party in the late 1930s. But did not join the ANC until after the communists were banned in 1950. Initially a journalist on Inkundla Ya Bantu, he left journalism in 1943 and became a government nominated member of the Transkeian General Council until 1950. At this time he had shown no opposition to the government, otherwise he would not have been nominated to this position by the government. In 1948 Mbeki stood as a candidate for the Natives Representative Council but lost the election.
In 1954, he joined the editorial board of New Age, a prominent leftist newspaper. Mbeki played a crucial role in ensuring that the pages and columns reflected the conditions, demands, and aspirations of the black peoples, particularly in the countryside. In November 1962, the then Minister of Justice, John Vorster, banned New Age. When the editorial board came out with its successor publication Spark, Vorster went one step further by banning not the newspaper but its editors and writers.
Mbeki was a leader of the African National Congress (ANC) and of the South African Communist Party. After the Rivonia Trial, he was imprisoned (1964–1987) on charges of terrorism and treason, together with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba, Ahmed Kathrada and other eminent ANC leaders.
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