Sobukwe memorial walk held in Katlehong
A walk was held in Katlehong to commemorate Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe on April 13.
Sobukwe was a prominent South African political dissident who founded the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in opposition to the South African apartheid system.
The walk started at Tshabalala Primary School and ended at Hurricane Resort, where members of PAC from all over the province were addressed.
Chairperson of the PAC Katlehong branch Kaizer Ngcobo said the purpose of the walk was to make PAC known in Katlehong and also plead for support from the community in the elections on May 8.
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“We wanted people to know that PAC is in Katlehong and this is what Sobukwe did on March 21, 1960, during his anti-pass campaign,” said Ngcobo.
On the day, Sobukwe left his home in Mofolo – and his pass – with the intention of handing himself over at the Orlando Police Station, with the hopes that many other black South Africans would also follow suit.
In his 8km walk to the station, he was joined by a group of protesters and, along with most of them, he was arrested and charged with sedition as he arrived at the station.
There was a similar protest in nearby Sharpeville around the same time, but police responded differently as they opened fire at the marchers, killing 69 and wounding 180.
“What surprises us the most as the PAC is that there are political parties that have hijacked the day as if it was their initiative,” said Ngcobo.
During the walk, PAC gave out their pamphlets and T-shirts to community members.
Ngcobo said even though they weren’t allowed to use the main roads, they still achieved their main objectives.
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Vosloorus PAC branch chairperson Thomas Khabanyana said there is no other political leader who can match Sobukwe.
“This was because of his selfless contribution in the struggle against apartheid. If he was voted the first democratic president, South Africa would have been a better country,” said Khabanyana.
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