Saul Msane

Saul Msane was an African Politician and an Intellectual, a prominent member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and a newspaper editor. He was one of the founding members of African National Congress and served for a period 1917 - 1919 as its Secretary General.[1][2][3]

Born in Edendale at Maritzburg district of Natal by early Christian converts and Wesleyan Methodist Missionary parents of Edendale,Chief Mathew Mzondo Msane of Amakholwa Tribe in Edendale and Legina "MaDlamini thumbnail "" Msane, he received his education at Edendale in Natal and Healdtown in the Eastem Cape, both influential Wesleyan Methodist schools for Africans.He grew up a very respectful, intelligent, diligent and ambitious young man, and went on to study Teacher's Course at Healdtown Institute (where Mandela also studied). He obtained Teaching Certificate with distinction, and Elementary Teacher's Diploma Of Competency in 1881 to 1882. He married Roneline, a respected and christian Mini family, and had four children, Nuttal Herbet Vuma Msane,Edmund Msane, Omried Johannes Msane and Helena Sykes (MaMsane). Later he became a major Methodist church figure, participating as a lay preacher and a choirmaster. He gained repute as a musician and a bass soloist and, in 1892, he toured England with the Zulu Christian Choir.

During the early part of the 20th century, Msane actively involved himself in African nationalist politics. He participated in the provincial Natal Native Congress and, after the Union of South Africa came into being in 1910, he joined together with Africans from all over the country in founding the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) in 1912. When the Natives Land Act was passed the following year, prohibiting Africans from buying land in European areas, he was called on to raise funds for a delegation to go to England to protest the legislation. He participated in the delegation in 1914, although its lobbying failed to persuade the British government to intervene.

In 1917, when S.M. Makgatho succeeded John Dube as president of the SANNC, he was elected Msane as Secretary-General. Msane also became editor of the organization's newspaper, Abantu-Batho. He had earlier founded Umlomo wa Bantu (Mouthpiece of the People), which was later merged with the SANNC Journal.

In later years, he worked as a compound manager of the Jubilee and Salisbury Gold Mining Company in Johannesburg and, when the mine closed down, as a labor recruiting agent. . He was the Secretary-General of the African National Congress from 1917 to 1918. Msane became a land owner, and political adviser to some of the Zulu kings.

In 1892 he undertook a concert tour of Europe together with a Zulu choir. In approximately 1907 he left Natal for the Transvaal and became a compound manager for a gold mine in Johannesburg. He later became a black labour recruitment agent for black labourers, a paying occupation which secured him a substantial income.

His political involvement started in 1900. In 1901 he became a founder member of the Natal Native Congress (NNC), which aimed at educating the Africans about their rights and acted as a forum for registering grievances. After moving to the Transvaal to work on the mines, he joined the Transvaal Native Congress (TNC) but maintained his links with the NNC. The NNC instructed him in 1907 to propagate their Isivivane scheme for economic self upliftment in the Transvaal.

Msane was the founding member of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) after its formation in 1912. During the SANNC's first annual conference in March 1913 he was again elected to lead a deputation that was sent to Cape Town to ask the government to revoke the draft bill of the Natives Land Bill. J.W. Sauer*, the Minister of Native Affairs, gave the deputation a hearing, but could not be convinced of the SANNC's case. The SANNC then decided to put their case directly to the British king and people. An emergency committee of which, Msane was the organizer was appointed to collect funds for this endeavour.

Msane was also appointed as one of the members of the deputation to Britain. During the long voyage from Cape Town to England Msane spent a good deal of the time playing chess against all who were willing. He beat everyone and according to reports at that time it was difficult for some white passengers to accept that a black man could beat them. The deputation to Britain, however, was a failure. Directly after the outbreak of the First World War Msane was again a member of a SANNC deputation - this time to affirm the SANNC's support for the government in the war effort.

During the war Msane attended meetings of the International Socialist League (a precursor of the Communist Party of South Africa), sometimes even acting as speaker, but in essence he remained a conservative leader.He taught at Amanzimtoti Institute ( now known as Adams College), where he met Josiah Gumede, who became his close friend and political associate to form Natal Natives Congress, before he left for Tranvaal to take up a job as first black Compound Manager at Jubilee Salisbury Mines. He again established Transvaal Natives Congress, and came up with an idea to merge Natal Native Congress, Transvaal Natives Congress, and Cape Natives Congress, to form a powerful African political party, and that is how African National Congress concept was coined. Although Msane founded African Nation Congress, he did not had intentions to own it, as he remained as a founder member up until he took up a position as Secretary General in 1917. His son Vuma also became a political activist and adviser to Inkosi Solomon kaCetshwyo, and was also a leader of Industrial Workers Association at the Transvaal Region. Majoka was a prominent land owner in then Colony Of Natal (now KwaZulu/Natal), and he was the first South African to resist 1913 Natives Land Act, in such a way that he led deligation to England to protest against 1913 Natives Land Act in 1914 with Langalibalele Dube, Solomon Plaatjie, Walter Rubusana, and Thomas Mapikela.

He continued to be active in the SANNC and in June 1917 was elected as its Secretary-General. This election was the result of a misunderstanding over policy which forced Richard Thema*, the previous Secretary-General, to resign from his post together with the President-General John Dube*. In mid -1918 Msane headed a deputation of blacks to the Prime Minister, Louis Botha*, to voice the grievances of black mineworkers. According to Msane, the main grievance was the colour bar. Botha promised that their grievances would be investigated, but the promise was not carried out satisfactorily, which led to a strike a year later. Msane was, however, not involved in the strike.

During the black mineworkers' unrest, which resulted in calls for a general strike on the Witwatersrand after the strike by the Johannesburg black sanitary workers in 1918, Msane played a leading role in trying to calm the workers' belligerent feelings. Among others he drew up a statement in which the idea of strikes was disparaged. It was published in white Sunday newspapers but brought abuse down on Msane's head, because after that he was nicknamed Isita sa Bantu (enemy of the people). His political role was in fact played out and he lived isolated from the black working class in Bree Street, Johannesburg.

In 1910/11 he was co-editor with L.T. Mvabaza* of the English / Xhosa weekly newspaper Umlomo wa Bantu (mouthpiece of the nation), which was based in Johannesburg. In 1912 Umlomo merged with other relatively small newspapers to form Abantu Batho, the SANNC mouth-piece, which was distributed countrywide. On occasion Msane was the editor. By 1919 he was so concerned about the radical direction the SANNC, in his opinion, was taking that he, Isaiah Bud-Mbelle* and other conservative black leaders unsuccessfully approached the Chamber of Mines for assistance in establishing a newspaper to serve as an alternative to Abantu Batho.

According to archival records, Msane died at Dr Tittlestad house, at Nkandla, eMpandleni on 6 November 1919.

References

  1. ↑ "Saul Msane". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Saul Msane". www.dacb.org. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Secretary General". African National Congress. Retrieved 21 October 2014.