MAMA VICKY: AN UNSUNG PAC HERO

 By Mokgweetsi Keikabile

Mam Vicky, an unsung struggle heroine

“We must never give up, you see giving up is worse and unforgivable after sacrificing so much, why give up? Never give up until you achieve what you were fighting for, we have not got back our land!”

The above are words spoken and evoked by one of the daughters of the stolen motherland soil of Azania who is a staunch Pan-Africanist per excellence. She has always lived and continues to breath Africanism. The revolutionary conviction that Africans must manage their affairs in Afrika without external control from imperialist, capitalist and white supremacy. To see dignity restored to an African to be able to live a life in peace and harmony never going to bed with an empty stomach or living in dehumanizing shacks because she hates oppression and exploitation and suffering so much that she joined the national liberation struggle.

Her name is Motlalepula Victoria Kgotleng. She has been a footsoldier of the PAC of Azania for decades. She was first incarcerated in 1977 under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act. It was this unjust law legislated to intentionally crushed down political activists in Azania by the settler minority regime wherein they would have banished them behind bars transported from prison to prison without any trial. Whereby she spends about eighteen months mostly in solitary confinement. 

Her crime was to transport or be a courier or skip youth activists to receive military training under the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA). She had a “kombie” or taxi where she used to collect them and then drop off at the route to enter into Swaziland in their journey to Tanzania. They also used the border into Botswana through Bophuthatswana.

On 23 February 1943 marks a historic day whereby the African soil was awarded a priceless gift by the gods of revolution and specifically the Afrikan gods, a baby girl came to being, little did she know that she would spend her living days on earth pragmatically implementing: TRAIN A WOMAN! TRAIN A NATION! LIBERATE AZANIA! The motive forces who do the dirtiest work to advance the struggle is woman, even when intellectuals often omit their contribution.

The security police took her first to Protea Police and then John Vorster police station and finally to Bloemfomtein. She was tortured severely. Her arrest actually emanates from a comrade who broke under torture who spilled the beans under inhuman barbaric interrogation. This comrade was working closely with Vuyisile, an Africanist comrade, from the Cape at the time, that is how he met Mo’Afrika Vicky in their affairs in the PAC. He broke and told the security police how they used to transport young people to neighbouring countries. 

Mam Vicky had introduced herself as Dikeledi hence he had to identify her when she was in police custody. When the comrade in question in Bloemfontein came to verify that Mam Vicky was the correct person who had been arrested, he was broken after torture that he just shakes his head in desperation and defeatist mode because his face was totally discombobulate and panel-beaten viciously.  

She was married to Moffat Zungu who was also involved in the struggle in the PAC.

In the early 1970s her house was a home of students in Turfloop who used to call it “Phalase” as a way to be able to rest, refresh and re-strategies because at this time in our historical epoch students were fully conscientized to have clarity that the student struggles could not be separated from the national liberation struggle. They belonged to the Azanian school of thought. Basically her house was a military champ internally.  

Recently in 2018 firebrands and footsoldiers of student leaders such as Londeka Gumede, Ontiretse Phethu, Keorapetse Nkamane etc who were instrumental in #FeesMustFall at both respectfully University of Johannesburg and Witwatersrand University celebrated their graduations at her house. She and other Africanists brew umqhobothi so-called “traditional beer” and we organized a goat that was slaughtered in the township, the writer was part of the organizers of the initiative which included cde Zukiswa White and cde Mfundo Dlungwane amongst others which ran for three days. The graduation is a remembrance that a young adult after completing their studies in tertiary should continue to organize to advance the Azanian cultural revolution of ensuring the land returns to the dispossessed indigenous Afrikan people.  Her warmth heart to open her house as a refuge and home to activists is not ahistorical. These student leaders have all contributed their part to combat capitalist education that is commodified demanding socialist education or simply put: free education for all. 

Mam Vicky open palm salute

In 1979 she was again arrested under the same act at Jabulani police station. It appears that her picture was taken at Sharpeville during the commemoration event of the massacre that happened on 21 March 1960 with an open palm salute and it really helped the racist Boer regime to catch. She escaped an attempted rape from a senior police officer, who on a particular day just came took his belt and pents off, Mam Vicky had no choice but to scream. They had been arrested about 12 political prisoners. Mo’Afrika Vicky informed other Africanists on this and cde Vusi was outraged to an extent of striking his bold fist to this police officer who was black who attempted to sexually molest Mam Vicky. The scars embodied from her are deep and totally devastating. At this police station she spent 7 months without any visits.

She spent some time at Besvlei police station for four months. Where prisoners were subjected to the harshest conditions. They ate dry pap which when described had worms, it was brown not white. They were handcuffed together with her husband cde Moffat from Meadowlands to this farm in Bloemfontein. Then Sotpan police station where it was so dark with no lights at all and then transferred to Standerton prison. During their arrests together as a couple her husband played a huge part emotionally and psychologically because Mam Vicky had given up and stop eating, the words “partner idla” or eat remains vivid on how she regained her strength to eat so that to live to see another day.

She was terrorized but not broken by the terror of the system as she started to accept that the police will always be her problem, she said on her second arrest, “hoe laak gaan ek bly die keer?” that meant this time how long will you keep me for behind bars?

While in prison she had no ways but to survive. Henceforth, as a political prisoner or “terrorist” as the regime called many freedom fighters, there is this exceptional incident. She was not allowed to eat with other common law prisoners so she basically had her food delivered by other prisoners, all black prisoners were not allowed to have direct contact with her. They came with food and put it down on the floor so that the white warder can open a cell to give them, while at it, birds played on it and then took them to Mo’Afrika Vicky who rejected it after just drowning a finger in it affirming that the food is cold, she said, “gaan maak die kos warm?” and concluded: “or else allow me to eat with other prisoners”. The police official threatened to slap her face, “ek is nie gestaf.” She continued: “mate jy gaan nie met my so praat” and Mo’Afrika Vicky took the threat and instead did the honour by slapping her so hard she turned red in her face (prison warder). They then called the security police. Colonel Van Der Merwe who appeared at Truth Reconciliation Commission was working there in the prison. That is a bravery that an uncompromising Pan-Africanist could outplay knowing very well that she will be tortured by the state security police later.

The police used to terrorize her so much that they came at her work as a typist at ABC downtown in Johannesburg in the 1960s. Subsequently, this led her to be fired. This is when she opened a shop of selling kotas (bunnie chows) which attracted youth and she recruited many of them to the party of land and revolution – the Pan Africanist Congress. She interacted with Khutso Seatlholo who was second-in-command to mobilizing students to boycott Afrikaans and Bantu education in 1976 together with Tsietsi Mashinini. Her branch in Meadowlands was vibrant and had many active members at the time even when the PAC was banned.

In 1977 she was selling junk foods at Meadowlands High School. After being released from prison after shortly being arrested then the school principal chased her out because she felt Mam Vicky was not selling food but politics to students.

Besides being a revolutionary she was being able to be a pillar of strength of the community. She adopted the elderly and spoiled them rottenly. Each and every year at her house she used to slaughter a cow and they would gather. Sometimes they would go to places like Sun City just on a mere vacation. This community work would run for 10 years consistently and persistently.

Mincemeat, oranges, drinks, kotas is some of the products she sold. There is this child who used to not have money at all then she adopted a project to give free lunch to students who are on the receiving end. About 30 children joined, making profit was not possible. There was this child who once said, “I won’t finish everything because I will have to eat later at home”. Not having food at home and going to school was totally demoralizing. Most of those students went to go to Wits University to pursue their further education studies.

She also used to adopt children from poor background to assist them with school material to be able to survive in a system of white domination and capitalism. When they travel trips she would assist them with material needs. Teachers used to refer students to her in poor backgrounds to help buy shoes from her hard earned money from selling kotas. Some were even accommodated at her house who were homeless. The spirit of sharing embedded in Africanism is deeply rooted in this. At some point she was cooking for students and teachers. The teachers adopted her house to be known as Maputo meaning that those who knew her where the passport to introduce new costumers.

She had about four passports to allow her to skip the country to go drop off the boys to Swaziland. She used to be accommodated by Pitika Ntuli at Ka-Lebamba who is now a qualified Professor. There is this particular memorable day when a young boy aged 12 managed to go to exile and Enock Zulu, Joe Mkhwanazi and Ntuli were keen for this child to go back to school. She was there to advice the young man from Zola in Soweto to get an education who refused to listen because he just said that he left school because he wanted military training. They boy refused any intervention and went on to receive military training from APLA.

Her husband fondly loved her and used to call her “partner” and most political activists who knew her adopted the name partner. He was to be incarcerated for seven years in Robben Island and was released in 1986. This happened after the notorious racist regime facilitated the secretive Bethal Trial. Zephaniah Mothopeng or Uncle Zeph was their pillar of strength to the Zungu family as they used to visit him late at night to request political advice when the matters were above them. Mo’Afrika Vicky says “Uncle Zeph never slept,” that is how much he was committed to the struggle. Mo’Afrika Moffat worked for the World Newspaper those who know it will tell you, it reported the news as it was, it was a revolutionary newspaper. The World Newspaper was eventually banned. After being released he worked at its predecessor which is Sowetan.

This family of Zungu were blessed with two beautiful girls who spend most of their childhood without their parents who were in jail. The teachers and family had to intervene and play a huge role to show love and support to the children.

With members of Karl Zimbiri Wizza Military Camp Branch in Soweto

Mam Vicky who is approaching 78 years often narrates that the PAC when it had little funds used to take care of its cadres. Because the system made it difficult for its members to operate. So the PAC once paid the fees of both her daughters by simply signing a cheque to go to Vaal Technicon and Rand Afrikaanse Universiteit where her daughters were studying.

Elizabeth Sibeko organized for Mam Vicky to go do a course in the United States around Pitts University. After completing wherein, she spends time with Mohau Pheko in New York. According to Mo’Afrika Vicky this is where Mohau did a lot of organizational work in the States because she played a huge role of fundraising and collecting clothing to the soldiers who were trained by APLA in its military champs.

At another prison she used the strategy of taking out water in the toilet to be able to communicate with other political prisoners. They would remove the water with whatever they had such a toilet paper, or blankets and then ask the other prisoner to do the same to allow them to keep sanity of having people, to communicate with. Those were the most devastating times.

She received a certificate of service from PAC in 1997. She currently has it.

The oppressive white domination system hated her so much that in 1982 she got arrested maliciously. There were no valid justifiable charges really. What transpired when they gave her a paper to write her charges as then when you were arrested then you used to be told to write charges she actually had nothing to write as she left it blank. The police were informed by an informant that she might have addressed a meeting somewhere in Mafikeng. Yet on this particular day she was in Robben Island to visit her husband. After six months behind bars and she was viciously tortured she was released. Even though she had been innocent all the time.

Gaz Ndlovu would frequent coming in and out of Azania and Joe Mkhwanazi at this time was working for Cocacola driving tracks in and around Swaziland. While arrested in 1977 the PAC Offices were closed as most comrades were arrested, the idea to go to exile vanished. She decided to make her contribution to combat colonialism, imperialism and apartheid internally within the confinements of Azania.

It is pointless to appreciate and pay a tribute to freedom fighters who have dedicated all their lives to the struggle when they are dead. Mam Vicky often reminds us that we have not got back our land and the struggle continues. She is not a veteran but a stalwart of the national liberation struggle.

A veteran is a person who believes that we are free and they are often stuck in nostalgia because to them it is only their past contribution to the struggle that matters, most have integrated into the system they dedicated their lives to cripple and destroyed, they are captured and in revolutionary terminologies are no longer within the ranks of the liberation movement.

Whereas, a stalwart is an activist who has served, suffered and sacrificed so much that they are still actively engaged in the struggle to this day. Their hearts and minds are invested in destroying a capitalist exploitive South Africa for a non-exploitive and non-racial socialist Azania to rise. They have never been divorced from the struggle even in their old age because they hate to see Afrika auctioned to land criminals from Europe, the dispossessor and colonial invaders who have now recruited their neocolonialists lackeys who have black faces to maintain their hegemony. 

 
Mokgweetsi Keikabile is the chairperson of PASMA Ibika and student at Walter Sisulu University reading for Information Communication and Technology. He writes on his personal capacity.