John Nyathi Pokela
| John Nyathi Pokela | |
|---|---|
| Chairman of the Pan Africanist Congress | |
|
In office February 1981 – June 1985 |
|
| Preceded by | Vusumzi Make |
| Succeeded by | Johnson Mlambo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1922 or 1923 Herschel, Transkei, South Africa |
| Died | 30 June 1985 Parirenyatwa Hospital, Zimbabwe |
| Political party | Pan Africanist Congress |
John Nyathi "Poks" Pokela (1922 or 1923 – 30 June 1985) was a South African political activist and Chairman of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Born in Herschel in the Transkei region, he was educated at Healdtown Comprehensive School and the University of Fort Hare. Originally a member of the African National Congress Youth League, he left the African National Congress and helped found the PAC in the late 1950s.
In 1966, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Robben Island on charges of sabotage related to the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), the militant wing of the Pan Africanist Congress; he had helped found the APLA (originally known as Poqo) in 1961, along Z. B. Molete and Clarence Makwetu.
While incarcerated, Pokela worked towards uniting the various factions of the PAC. In 1980, having served his sentence, Pokela was released from Robben Island. In February 1981, he was appointed to succeed Vusumzi Make, (who had resigned after the Chunya massacre in March 1980 when APLA troops refused to accept his leadership), to become head of the Tanzanian backed faction of the PAC. His leadership was rejected by the survivors of the 500 strong APLA Chunya force as well as the Maoist PAC factions in Zimbabwe, Libya, Ghana, and Kenya but Tanzania persuaded the Mugabe government to deport or imprison the major opponents (Leballo, Leeman, Gaelisiwe, Buqwana) .
Once he assumed the position of chairman, Pokela set to work reuniting the PAC, which had been fractured since the 1979 Tanzanian-backed deposition of Chairman Potlako Leballo, leader of the party from 1962 to 1979. He held talks with the 70 member Azanian People’s Revolutionary Party (APRP), a short-lived offshoot of the PAC formed by members expelled by 1978 PAC National Executive meeting in Arusha. Because of this reconciliation effort, they rejoined in 1982 and the APRP disbanded.
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