Day 27 of the 28 Days of Black Liberation 2023 series
uMkhonto we Sizwe, or “MK”, was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) which fought against the apartheid government of South Africa. It was launched on 16th December 1961. uMkhonto we Sizwe translates to “Spear of the Nation”.
Despite the ANC’s previous commitment to civil disobedience and other nonviolent tactics, the South African state banned the party in 1960. Shortly thereafter, the Sharpeville massacre occurred – a brutal killing by Sharpeville police that left 69 protestors dead and 180 more injured. Frustration with the ANC’s tactics had been building for more than a decade, and the Sharpeville massacre was the final push that prompted the ANC to seek alternative tactics.
21 March 1960 – Sharpeville Massacre
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) had proposed and was preparing for a nationwide campaign to resist the pass system – an oppressive system that required African residents to carry passbooks with them so that the government could control their flow of movement. The goal of PAC’s campaign was to overwhelm the jail system and bring the economy to standstill. Participants would refuse to bring their passes while marching to the police station, then surrender themselves at the police station en masse. Other demonstrations that day included protestors burning or discarding their passbooks.
A group of between 5,000 to 10,000 protestors pushed their way into Sharpeville police station. At the start of the protest, just 20 police officers were at the station. By mid-day, protestors faced down approximately 300 armed police officers.
Eventually, police began to open fire on protestors. 69 people were killed and 180 more injured. Police claim the protesters were throwing stones at them and they feared for their lives.
Excerpt of the 1961 Manifesto of uMkhonto we Sizwe
“It is, however, well known that the main national liberation organisations in this country have consistently followed a policy of non-violence. They have conducted themselves peaceably at all times, regardless of government attacks and persecutions upon them, and despite all government-inspired attempts to provoke them to violence. They have done so because the people prefer peaceful methods of change to achieve their aspirations without the suffering and bitterness of civil war. But the people`s patience is not endless.
The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defence of our people, our future and our freedom. The government has interpreted the peacefulness of the movement as weakness; the people`s non-violent policies have been taken as a green light for government violence. Refusal to resort to force has been interpreted by the government as an invitation to use armed force against the people without any fear of reprisals. The methods of Umkhonto we Sizwe mark a break with that past.
We are striking out along a new road for the liberation of the people of this country. The government policy of force, repression and violence will no longer be met with non-violent resistance only! The choice is not ours; it has been made by the Nationalist government which has rejected ever peaceable demand by the people for rights and freedom and answered ever such demand with force and yet more force! Twice in the past 18 months, virtual martial law has been imposed in order to beat down peaceful, non-violent strike action of the people in support of their rights. It is now preparing its forces – enlarging and rearming its armed forces and drawing the white civilian population into commandos and pistol clubs – for full-scale military actions against the people. The Nationalist government has chosen the course of force and massacre, now, deliberately, as it did at Sharpeville.”
Learn more
Overview of the formation of uMkhonto we Sizwe
Images of the Sharpesville massacre (WARNING: GRAPHIC)
Long list of analyses, history, and archives of uMkhonto we Sizwe