The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) has suffered a heavy body blow following the death in the early hours of today of a trusted stalwart and Africanist and former president of the movement, Dr Motsoko Pheko. Pheko died at the ripe age of 93, born on November 13, 1930.
In leadership stakes, Pheko trumps. He was at the forefront of the conceptualisation of Poqo in 1961, then at a young age of 30. This would morph into the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla) – the military wing of the PAC.
Committed to the Africanist cause
So committed to the Africanist cause, Pheko wasted no time after the establishment of the party in 1959 to form a branch in Dobsonville in Soweto. The PAC was banned in April 1960 following the Sharpeville massacre of March 21, 1960. The day’s preceding protest march was instigated by the PAC leadership under the tutelage of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe. Sobukwe’s organisation engaged in anti-pass law protests in Sharpeville. The march saw 69 protesters mowed down by the apartheid police, and many were wounded.
Just under a year later, Pheko was in the thick of things, helping to form Poqo, the forerunner of Apla. This was to prepare the PAC guerillas to fight an unjust apartheid system. “Doing so in the trenches and elsewhere where the oppressors were found”.
Erudite, and a prolific author of many books. Some of his books reflect on the history of the organisation he loved with passion. Pheko held several degrees, including two law degrees.
Sacrificed his law career for the love of his organisation
For a short period, he served his pupillage at the Johannesburg Bar, with the intention of practising law as an advocate. That never came to pass, with other weighty organisational matters intervening.
All told, Pheko served the PAC in different capacities for more than 60 years of unbroken service. That is until his death this morning. He was part of its inaugural leadership. Its leader and president, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, won the presidency at the Orlando Communal Hall in 1959.
Pheko threw himself in all the Africanist party’s endeavours. His aim was to raise the name of the organisation. To elevate it as the most authentic organisation, even above the ANC, to lead the Africanist agenda. This in a country that suffocated from colonialism, land dispossession and apartheid excesses. All meted out by the National Party, which would see the organisation banned, along the ANC. A move that would see the Africanist activating its military struggle in and outside the country.
Well-travelled, Pheko was a man of ideas, and lover of education. He established Dayslar University in Kenya, and served his organisation as its representative at the UN. He was also founder and chair of Tokoloho (liberation) Development Association. It was an entity dedicated to promoting research and indigenous knowledge.
Child of the universe
He has lived in several countries, including Zambia, the US, Switzerland and the UK, among others. All the time promoting the values and ethos the PAC stood for, which included human rights and social justice. And a quest for the return of the land to the indigenous people of this land.
Like Sobukwe, he was steeped in theology. And so deserving to be described as a theologian, as he was also in law, politics, and sociology.
Speaking on behalf of the PAC, Jacki Seroke said Pheko dedicated all his life to the PAC cause. He became a model or prototype of what the PAC ought to be in society, fighting for equality and the return of the land to the African people. Also helping to shape its character. This is a disposition that made the organisation attractive to the youth as well as to older persons.
“When the PAC was banned, Pheko and other PAC stalwarts undertook to form the military wing of the PAC, then known as Poqo. With the sole purpose of fighting the unjust apartheid system which brutalised African people,” Seroke said. Pheko was “big on research and had written extensively about his organisation in the context of the liberation struggle, and generally the history of the oppressed”, said Seroke.
Played significant role to liberate his people
“In recent years, due to advancing years, Pheko’s health suffered, and I am so sad he will no longer be with us. His death has shocked us, and we have no doubt he played a significant role to liberate his people. In days to come, the PAC will reflect on his life and hopefully learn more about his commitment to the struggle of the people.”
No details of his funeral had been disclosed by the family at the time of publishing the tribute. But it is expected that memorial services will held in most parts of the country.
Rest in peace M’Afrika
