Matthew Goniwe

Matthew Goniwe (27 December 1947 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of the 'Cradock Four' murdered by the South African police in 1985.

Goniwe was the youngest of eight children born to farm labourer parents, David and Elizabeth, in Lingelihle, a township on the outskirts of Cradock. He attended St James' Primary school and Sam Xhallie Secondary School before matriculating at Healdtown. He attended the University of Fort Hare, where he earned a teacher's diploma majoring in maths and science.

Goniwe taught for a while at his old school, Sam Xhallie Secondary, before starting a school in Mqanduli in the Transkei with a colleague, John Hllekani. He married Nyameka in 1975 and had two children, Nobuzwe and Nyaniso.

He had become politicised at Fort Hare, and started a communist reading group while teaching in the Transkei. Some of the material was banned under the apartheid government's Suppression of Communism Act.

The group was reported by a student, and Goniwe was amongst a number of people arrested on 19 July 1976. After a trial lasting more than a year, Goniwe was sentenced to four-years imprisonment. Goniwe used the time in prison to earn a degree in political science through the University of South Africa.

After his release, Goniwe continued his activism. In 1983 he was elected the first chairperson of the Cradock Youth Association (CRADOYA), which later affiliated with the United Democratic Front (UDF) after its formation in 1983.

The security police, wary of Goniwe, then a principal at Ngweba High in Cradock, arranged with the Department of Education to have him transferred to Graaf-Reinet. Goniwe refused the transfer and was fired. The community rose in support of him, culminating in school boycotts which eventually lasted fifteen months, spreading to a number of schools beyond Cradock.

...
Wikipedia