Ashby Solomzi Peter Mda | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 April 1916 |
| Died | 7 August 1993 (aged 77) |
| Education | University of South Africa (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, teacher |
| Known for | Early founders of theAfrican National Congress Youth League and thePan Africanist Congress of Azania |
| Children | Zakes Mda |
Ashby Solomzi Peter Mda (6 April 1916 – 7 August 1993), also known asA. P. Mda was aSouth African teacher, lawyer, political activist and co-founder of theAfrican National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He was also one of the founders of thePan Africanist Congress of Azania.[1]
Peter Mda was born the 6 April 1916 in theHerschel District of theEastern Cape. He was given the name “Ashby” as he was born onAsh Wednesday. He took the name “Peter” after joining theCatholic church.[2]
His mother, Mildred Mei, worked as a school teacher and his father, Gxumekelani Charles Mda, was a peasant farmer, headman and local shoemaker.
Mda's parents were members of theAnglican church, however, A.P. Mda and his siblings attended the localCatholic school. Mda later attended other Catholic schools, namely St Francis School inAliwal North and Mariazell School north ofMatatiele. Mda pursued aBachelor of Arts degree at theUniversity of South Africa (UNISA). Mda also studied law through correspondence courses and eventually graduated with a law degree.[3]
After qualifying as a teacher, Mda was unable to secure employment in the Eastern Cape. He then found work as a gardener and cook inEast London. He moved toWitwatersrand in an attempt to secure a teaching job teaching but remained unsuccessful. He continued to work inWitwatersrand as a gardener, cook and then a steel foundry. He eventually found a teaching post at Germiston Catholic Primary. He also worked at St John Berchman, a primary school in Orlando,Soweto from 1938. He continued to study through correspondence as to eventually become a lawyer.[4]
A. P. Mda began his political career at the All African Convention (AAC) meeting inBloemfontein in 1936. He attended the meeting to cover the proceedings for Umlindi we Nyanga, anEast London newspaper. A. P. Mda defended the AAC leader, D. D. T. Jabavu, who was suspected of betraying their mandate and having dealings withJ. B. M. Hertzog with regards to the Hertzog Bill of 1936. As support for the AAC dwindled, Mda began advocating forAfrican Nationalism which, according to Mda, had excluded non-African groups. Mda then became a supporter of Dr A. B. Xuma and theAfrican National Congress (ANC).
Mda participated in the African Teachers Campaign advocating for higher wages in 1940 which was led by theTransvaal African Teachers' Association (TATA). Mda was the chair of the Pimville branch of the Salary Campaign Committee at the next TATA gathering at the Wilberforce institute. Other members of the committee included David Bopane, Edward Manyosi, M. Maubela, M. Kekana, Sydney Maseko and E.S. Molepo. He was also part of the Catholic African Teachers Union (CATU) which was against the wage campaign.
Mda later played a pivotal role in the formation of theAfrican National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Mda formed a strong intellectual and political relationship withAnton Lembede soon after Lembede arrived in Johannesburg. Mda, Lembede and Jordan Ngubane, assistant editor of theBantu World, were mandated to draw up themanifesto of the ANCYL. Lembede died suddenly on 29 July 1947. Shortly thereafter, Mda was named the acting president of the ANCYL and was formally elected into the position in 1948.
Mda set up a working committee consisting ofNelson Mandela,Walter Sisulu andOliver Tambo to manage the activities of the ANCYL. Mda selectedFort Hare to expand their influence as the institution had a strong Black student community. The ANCYL also established branches inNatal and theCape Province. The Fort Hare branch was officially launched in November 1948.
The ANCYL, under Mda's leadership, started the Programme of Action (PA) at the ANC's Cape provincial office inPort Elizabeth in June 1949. The ANCYL adopted the PA. Xuma's term at the helm of the ANC was coming to an end and Mda and other members of the ANCYL started seeking a replacement who would endorse the PA at the following national ANC conference in 1949. Oliver Tambo went toJames Moroka's home in Bantu location to encourage him to stand as a presidential candidate. Moroka was elected as president and the PA was adopted in 1949 as the ANC's guiding document. Mda then stepped down from the ANCYL after Moroka's appointment. He continued to work behind the scenes to ensure that theANC remained committed to its nationalist ideals. Mda later grew weary of Moroka's leadership and wrote public letters of disapproval condemning theANC leadership in the publication “Bantu World”. Mda noticed a “watering down” of African Nationalism byOliver Tambo,Nelson Mandela andWalter Sisulu as the new leadership started forming multi-racial alliances including Coloured, Indian and White anti-Apartheid organisations.
Mda was often quoted as supporting a form of African Nationalism which should not be used to justify segregation and separate development. Mda was against theCommunist Party of South Africa (CPSA) which was possibly due to his Catholic upbringing. He believed that the CPSA planned to infiltrate and take over theANC.
Mda is also described as the “founding spirit" of thePan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) which broke away from theANC in 1959. This group includedJohn Nyathi Pokela,Potlako Leballo andRobert Sobukwe.[5] Mda also developed the motto “Serve, Sacrifice and Suffering.”[6] In the early 1990s, Mda, along with the rest of the PAC, was reluctant to join the Convention for the Establishment of Democracy in South Africa, known asCODESA.[7]
His sonZakes Mda was born in the Eastern Cape in 1948. A.P. migrated with his entire family toLesotho when he was sent into exile.[8] Mda charged his clients very little for his services throughout his career. His family suffered due to this. They later lived in a township in a house with a rusty corrugated roof, no ceiling and no electricity.[9] Mda died on the 7 August 1993 due toheart failure.[1]
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