Solomon Mahlangu

Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu (10 July 1956 – 6 April 1979) was a South African operative of the African National Congress (ANC) militant wing, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK). Convicted of murder by the then-apartheid administration, Mahlangu was hanged in 1979.^[2][3]

Early years

Mahlangu was born in Pretoria on 10 July in 1956. The second son of Martha Mahlangu, his father left in 1962 and as a result he was raised by his mother, a domestic worker. He attended Mamelodi High School up to Standard 8, but did not complete his schooling due to the many riots that resulted in school closures.^[4]

Political career

Mahlangu never participated in the 16 June 1976 Soweto uprising though he joined the ANC in September 1976. He then left the country to be trained as an Umkhonto we Sizwe operative in Angola and Mozambique and on 11 June 1977 he returned to South Africa through Swaziland. Mahlangu and his friends Mondy Johannes Motloung and George "Lucky" Mahlangu, were subsequently tracked down by the South African Police in Johannesburg. Although “Lucky” Mahlangu managed to escape, in the ensuing gun battle four civilians were hit by stray rounds. Solomon Mahlangu and Motloung were arrested, tried, and hanged after two years.^[5] Before going to the gallows he is noted to have said the now famous words "Tell my people that I love them and that they must continue the fight, my blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom, Aluta continua."^[6]

References