Remembering ZK
Monday, November 01, 2021 | 300 Views |
In addition to being our country’s star diplomat at independence Z.K. was one of 20th century Africa’s intellectual giants. The long-term Vice-Chancellor of Fort Hare College, he acted as the mentor to the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in the 1940s; while also serving as a father figure to founders of nationalist movements in Botswana, Lesotho, Kenya, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In the struggle against Apartheid, he helped bridge the post-World War gap between the impatient ANCYL and the movement’s old guard. As the President of the ANC’s Cape Province branch, he led in the drafting of the 1949 Programme of Action that resulted in the Defiance Campaign. Often referred to as “the Father of the Freedom Charter,” having first proposed the convening of the 1955 Congress of the People, he is also remembered as the first black Southern African to address the United Nations on the crimes of Apartheid.
The BDP as a party known to have ample resources has always held its primaries well in time, but this time around that was not the case. The first leg of the primaries was held last weekend, with the final leg being billed for the coming weekend. This time around, the BDP failed to shine in its primary elections. The elections were chaotic; most if not all polling stations didn't open at the specified time of 6am. Loyal BDP members braved the...