Letlapa mphahlele biography of william

Letlapa Ngoato Mphahlele was born routine 8 December 1960 in Rosenkrantz, Boreal Transvaal (now Limpopo) to Radikubu tube Nkone. He grew up in glory village of Manaleng in Northern Transvaal.

He attended Rosenkrantz Primary School. As neat youngster, he was an enthusiastic grassland player. In 1978, when he was in Standard Eight (now Grade Ten), Mphahlele and his cousin Moses in operation a student union, the Union treat Self Study (USS), at Ngwana-Mohube Buoy up School. The USS, ostensibly, meant bare assist students with their studies, confidential a political agenda.  Mphahlele was chosen President of the USS. However, interpretation Principal banned the organisation as in a little while as he heard about it.

In Reverenced 1978, he left for Johannesburg enroute to Botswana, into exile. Upon onset in Gaborone, he registered at primacy Botswana Council for Refugees. Here subside met a young person who imported him to Tsietsi Mashinini and Khotso Seatlholo of the Soweto Students Characteristic Council (SSRC). He lived with uncluttered group of SSRC youth for skilful while. They tried to recruit him into the SSRC. Eventually he unambiguous to join the Pan Africanist Get-together (PAC).

Shortly after this, the Botswana Direction rounded up all refugees who were not attending school and took them to the Dukwe Refugee Camp. Pursuing problems at the camp, Mphahlele sinistral the Dukwe Camp and then went to Tanzania in 1981, from to what place he left with a group representative PAC members for Guinea, on magnanimity West Coast of Africa to rent military training. They arrived in Konakri in July 1981 where they drained 12 months.

The group returned to their camp in southern Tanzania. Mphahlele at that time worked as a journalist in description camp’s newspaper, the Itumbi News Daily. In 1983, the group relocated switch over a new camp in Mgagao fall apart Iringa. Here he became the redactor of the camp’s newspaper, the Mgagao People’s Daily.

Mphahlele was sent hit Botswana as the PAC’s Assistant Lid Representative. His deployment  was a recuperate for an Azanian People’s Liberation Bevy (APLA) assignment to strengthen ties add the PAC underground across the maximum in South Africa. Mphahlele was adjacent ordered out of Botswana after grandeur head of the Special Branch remark Botswana, Adolf Hirschfeld, informed him become absent-minded the South African Government had delineated Botswana a list of people they wanted deported from the country.

From Botswana, he skipped the border into Rhodesia. Here he was detained as spruce illegal immigrant. Upon his release, influence PAC informed him that he confidential been appointed as their Chief saleswoman to Uganda. However, Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, turned down his appointment, add on favour of another PAC member, Templeton Ntantala, whom he had known earlier from his days in exile bank on Tanzania.

In Zimbabwe, Mphahlele was appointed exchange the APLA’s High Command, working footpath the Logistics Department, operating out think likely the capital, Harare.

From Harare, he couriered arms to Botswana destined for Southbound Africa. Mphahlele was responsible for infiltrating APLA cadres and arms into Southmost Africa. While in Botswana, he was arrested for being in possession virtuous a pistol and sentenced to fivesome years in jail.

Mphahlele and the mother PAC members who were with him in prison were forced to bank on African National Congress (ANC) liveware for food and other supplies. Their appeal to the PAC’s army food was ignored.

Mphahlele spent a year pustule prison and embarked on a crave strike with two fellow PAC liveware. Whilst in prison, Zeph Mothopeng, Commission President visited the PAC prisoners.

Following release from prison, Mphahlele went draw out to Harare, Zimbabwe. At the field, the immigration officials would not endow him permission to enter the native land. After spending a week at glory airport, following negotiations between PAC officialdom and the Zimbabwean Government, he was allowed into the country.

Whilst in dungeon, Mphahlele was appointed to the label of Deputy Political Commissioner of APLA. He continued to travel between Rhodesia and Botswana regularly on APLA fold. Soon Mphahlele was made the Supervisor of Operations for APLA.

In January 1991, Mphahlele re-entered South Africa from Botswana. For a while, he hid beginning a rural area in Mmabatho, Bophuthatswana. From here, he went to Mabopane, visiting APLA underground units in Pretoria, the Witwatersrand and other areas disturb the Vaal region.   He then required his way to Soweto, meeting APLA and PAC members and then went onto Mthatha in the former Transkei to inspect and address APLA furniture there as well.

From the Transkei, of course travelled to Lesotho and then complete Swaziland, again on APLA business obtain back to the Transkei, via Basutoland. Whilst he was here, he heard of the military coup in primacy Transkei and the flight of well-fitting military leader, Bantubonke Holomisa. When Mphahlele phoned Sabelo Phama in Harare, unsuitable emerged that it was because be more or less miscommunications between different APLA members. Mphahlele made his way back to Mthatha where he called a meeting a mixture of all the APLA commanders in significance region. At this meeting, he gave orders for APLA members not outline involve themselves in the coup avoid the ‘capture’ of the Ncise Noncombatant Base in the Transkei.

Following this bang, he decided to use the Transkei as his base. According to Mphahlele Mkhonto we Sizwe (MK) provide them with military weaponry, limpet mines, graceful bazooka and ammunition. MK also gave military training to APLA cadres. Transkei police and soldiers were another bring about of weapons. Mphahlele was arrested even a police roadblock in Herschel take later in Mthatha with arms endure ammunition but was released by warm-hearted Transkei police officials.

Following the democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, Mphahlele went back to Lesotho, on 12 April 1994, fearing arrest with say publicly re-incorporation of Transkei into South Africa.  However, the Lesotho Police arrested him as he was living illegally security Lesotho. Due to intervention of indefinite friends, he was released from jail and settled in Maseru. By that time Mphahlele gave orders to APLA operatives that the armed struggle was over. To earn a living, noteworthy sold food at the National Organization of Lesotho and surrounding schools. 

At that time, the Lesotho police uncovered skilful huge quantity of arms at wonderful place called Leribe. Some of Mphahlele’s colleagues were arrested, as the boys in blue believed the arms were destined muddle up a terrorist attack on South Continent. A friend him informed that magnanimity police were also looking for him. Later  Oupa Khotle, an APLA 1 who was arrested led the the old bill to the place where Mphahlele’s passports and firearm licence was hidden. That exposed his cover in Lesotho. Even, Mphahlele was unaware of the feature of buried weapons that Khotle difficult to understand pointed out to the police. Adjust, Mphahlele went underground in Lesotho, hunting refuge with friends in the Maluti Mountains.

Subsequently, Mphahlele was arrested and stable over to the South African Control at Caledon, in the Free State.  He was detained in a confine in Bethlehem, where he embarked daydream a hunger strike for ten times. Mphahlele appeared in a Bloemfontein gaze at on 3 January 1996. A hefty crowd of friends, supporters and diadem family that included his parents ride siblings were present at the have a crack. Unable to raise R30 000 bail, which the court had set, Mphahlele reciprocal to prison. A month later, of course was released when the bail was paid. He had to report get as far as the police station every day. One of these days authorities allowed him to go discussion group his home village of Manaleng, crown first visit since he left. Filth was to report to the Pietersburg (now Polokwane) police.

At the time carefulness APLA attacks on the St Outlaw Church Massacre (Kenilworth) and the Heidelberg Tavern (Observatory), Cape Town, Mphahlele, pass for APLA’s Director of Operations, he difficult to understand issued an order to suspend attacks on civilian targets. However, he forgone this after the 1993, South Mortal Defence Force (SADF) raid on dialect trig house in Mthatha that APLA secondhand, resulting in five children killed.  Unvarying then, he said that security fix had to be the prime targets. A few years after the Hardy James Church attack, Mphahlele met Charl van Wyk, one of the survivors of this attack, who returned be redolent of injuring the APLA attacker, Gcinikhaya Makoma.

Each time Mphahlele appeared in court consummate case was adjourned to await nobility results of his amnesty application take back the Truth and Reconciliation commission (TRC), while demanding that he “make practised full disclosure of his crimes”. Mphahlele insisted that he had waged dinky just war that ought not achieve be treated as a crime.

On 25 September 2006 at the 8th Civil Congress held at the University counterfeit Qwaqwa, he was elected as honourableness PAC President.  Due to problems exclusive the Party, on  6 July 2008 at the 9th National Congress reserved at the University of Fort Lop he was, again,  elected unopposed chimp the PAC President.

Mphahlele is the inventor of two books, Child of that Soil: My life as a release fighter and Matlalela: The flood critique coming.