![]() ![]() We did so not because we desired such a course, but solely because the government had left us with no other choice. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle, and to form uMkhonto we Sizwe. This conclusion was not easily arrived at. In his famous " I Am Prepared to Die" speech, Mandela outlined the motivations that led to the formation of uMkhonto we Sizwe: Īt the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force. Motivations for formation Īccording to Nelson Mandela, all of the founding members of the uMkhonto we Sizwe, including himself, were also members of the ANC. The organisation was formally disbanded in a ceremony at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Gauteng, on 16 December 1993, although the armed struggle had been suspended earlier, during the negotiations to end apartheid. Wilton Mkwayi, chief of uMkhonto we Sizwe at the time, escaped during trial. This was followed by the Rivonia Trial, in which 10 leaders of the ANC were tried for 221 militant acts designed to "foment violent revolution". The farm was privately owned by Arthur Goldreich and bought with South African Communist Party and ANC funds, as non-whites were unable to own a property in that area under the Group Areas Act. On 11 July 1963, 19 ANC and uMkhonto we Sizwe leaders, including Arthur Goldreich and Walter Sisulu, were arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia. įor a time it was headquartered in Rivonia, then rural but now an affluent suburb of Johannesburg. It was subsequently classified as a terrorist organisation by the South African government, and banned. ![]() Īfter warning the South African government in June 1961 of its intent to resist further acts of government-instituted terror if the government did not take steps toward constitutional reform and increase political rights, uMkhonto we Sizwe launched its first attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961. ![]() Its mission was to fight against the South African government. UMkhonto we Sizwe ( Xhosa pronunciation:, meaning "Spear of the Nation" abbreviated MK) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), and was founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. ![]()
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