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Raymond Mphakamisi MhlabaOMSG (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of theAfrican National Congress (ANC) who became the firstpremier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his life in prison. Well-known for being sentenced withNelson Mandela,Govan Mbeki,Walter Sisulu and others in theRivonia Trial, he was an active member of the ANC and theSouth African Communist Party (SACP) all his adult life. His kindly manner brought him the nickname "Oom Ray” (“Uncle Ray” inAfrikaans).^[1]

Mhlaba was born in Mazoka village in theFort Beaufort district,Eastern Cape and was educated at Healdtown Mission Institute but had to drop out because of financial problems. Mhlaba started working at a laundry inPort Elizabeth after leaving school in 1942.^[2]

He met and married his first wife,Joyce Meke, who was also from theFort Beaufort area in 1943. In their 17 years together, before her death in a car accident in 1960, they had three children Bukeka, Nomalungelo and Jongintshaba. In 1982, Mhlaba, who had been a political prisoner inRobben Island since 1964, was transferred toPollsmoor Prison where he received special permission to marry his common-law wifeDideka Heliso in 1986, with whom he had three children Mpilo, Nomawethu and Nikiwe.^{[citation needed]}

Mhlaba started working at a laundry inPort Elizabeth after leaving school in 1942. The horrendous conditions at the laundry converted him to a trade unionist and he became the leader ofNon European Laundry Workers Union in 1943. In 1943, he joined theSouth African Communist Party, serving as the party's district secretary from 1946 until the party was banned in 1950. In 1944, he became a member of theAfrican National Congress. From 1944 Mhlaba maintained dual membership of theANC and theSACP. He rose through the ANC ranks becoming the chairman of thePort Elizabeth branch of the ANC from 1947 to 1953, and then elected to the Cape Executive committee.

Mhlaba was the first to be arrested for disobeying apartheid laws during the nationwide Defiance Campaign of 1952 together with Govan Mbeki andVuyisile Mini for three months inRooi Hel ('Red Hell' or North End Prison, Port Elizabeth). The campaign was launched in Port Elizabeth when Mhlaba led a group of volunteers singing freedom songs through the "Whites Only" entrance of the New Brighton Railway Station. This action earned him theXhosa nickname "Vulindlela" or "he who opens the way." That same year, Mhlaba was charged under South Africa'sSuppression of Communism Act. Although his political activities continued, he was barred from attending meetings or gatherings.^{[citation needed]}

Before leaving he assisted Mandela in writing the Umkhonto constitution. In 1962, Mhlaba returned to South Africa, becoming a commander of the MK after Nelson Mandela's arrest.^{[citation needed]}

After the ANC was banned on 8 April under the Unlawful Organisations Act, the party took up the armed struggle forming its military wingUmkhonto we Sizwe. Mhlaba was one of its first recruits and was sent to China for military training.^[1] In 1961, he spent ten months in China, studying at the Nanjing Military Academy.^[3] During the early 1960s, Mhlaba traveled to theUmkhonto we Sizwe’s military camps inMorocco andAlgeria as well as going to other countries to negotiate for military support.^[3]

On 11 July 1963 the South African apartheid government raided the ANC's underground headquarters in Rivonia, north of Johannesburg. Mhlaba and 10 other ANC and SACP leaders includingAhmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki were arrested and Nelson Mandela was already in prison. They were charged withsabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.^{[citation needed]}On 9 October 1963, the world-famousRivonia Trial with all the accused charged with high treason. On 12 June 1964, Mhlaba, Mandela and seven other ANC leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment, and all were sent toRobben Island but the whiteDenis Goldberg was sent toPretoria Central Prison instead of Robben Island.^[1]

During his time in Robben Island, Mhlaba and other ANC members founded the ANC High Command or High Organ with Mandela as its head. The committee educated and supported younger imprisoned members, formulated policies on day-to-day concerns, prisoners' complaints, and strikes, and enforced discipline within their isolation unit.^{[citation needed]} Looking back at their time in Robben Island Mandela said of Mhlaba: "I got to know him as the peacemaker. He spent a lot of time urging fellow prisoners to forget their differences and unite so that conditions for prisoners could improve."^[1]

After his release from prison on 15 October 1989, he was elected to the ANC national executive and the South African Communist Party central committee. He became national chairperson of the SACP in 1995.

In January 1994 he was chosen as the ANC's nominee asPremier of the Eastern Cape, and in May 1994 he was elected to that post. He helped to establish the house of traditional leaders. He then became the High Commissioner toUganda andRwanda, until he retired in 2001. In April 2001 he released a book of his memoirs, narrated by him and researched and compiled byThembeka Mafumadi.He was chairperson of a black economic empowerment consortium involved in the Coega port project, but suffered a stroke on 19 July 2003, recovering quickly.

In 2004, Mhlaba was diagnosed with advancedliver cancer, and in December doctors discharged him from a private clinic saying there was nothing they could do for him. On 20 February 2005 he died in hospital. He was grantedstate funeral on 27 February 2005. Mhlaba is survived by his three sons and five daughters, his wife Dideka Mhlaba having died on 18 January 2010.^[4]

Mhlaba is seen as a stalwart member of both the ANC and the SACP. He was recognised with theIsitwalandwe Medal in 1992 for his role in the liberation struggle, and the Moses Kotane Award in 2002 for his contribution to the SACP.

The Nkonkobe Local Municipality which includes Alice and Mhlaba's hometownFort Beaufort was renamed theRaymond Mhlaba Local Municipality.^[5] The Raymond Mhlaba Centre for Governance and Leadership atNelson Mandela University is named in his honor.^[6]

Andries Pretorius street, The R30 inBloemfontein was renamed after Raymond Mhlaba to honour him. There's an ANC branch named after him in Mpumalanga, Nkangala region, sub-region Thembisile Hani ward 11 in Verena.

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• 1920 births
• 2005 deaths
• Xhosa people
• Deaths from liver cancer in South Africa
• Premiers of the Eastern Cape
• South African anti-apartheid activists
• African National Congress politicians
• South African Communist Party politicians
• South African prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
• Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Africa
• Inmates of Robben Island
• UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel
• People from Fort Beaufort

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