Archie Gumede

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Archibald "Archie" Jacob Gumede (born March 1, 1914 in Pietermaritzburg , † June 27, 1998 in Durban ) was a South African politician, lawyer and anti- apartheid activist. Among other things, he was founding president of the United Democratic Front .

Life

Gumede's father was Josiah Tshangana Gumede , President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1927 to 1930 , his mother Lilian Gumede, née Mgqogqoza. He passed his matric at the Lovedale Institute with Alice in 1932 and studied at the South African Native College, later the University of Fort Hare . He took a medical course, but dropped out after two years. During his studies he was in contact with Zachariah Keodirelang Matthews and Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu . He returned to Natal in 1936 and from then on worked as a health assistant and inspector. In 1940 he began working as an employee in law firms. In 1949 he joined the ANC, where he soon rose to the position of Assistant Branch Secretary of Pietermaritzburg alongside Selby Msimang . In 1951 he became the ANC's Assistant Secretary for Natal. He became a close associate of the ANC President Albert Luthuli and prepared together with the Natal Indian Congress for Natal the Congress of the People , which took place in Kliptown in 1955 . There he led the delegates of Natal.

After founding the Liberal Party in the mid-1950s, he joined this party, which he saw as a supporter of the ANC and other Congress parties, and was one of the leading politicians there. In 1956 he and 155 other people were charged in the Treason Trial , but acquitted in October 1957. He was arrested again after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, but was soon released. In March 1961, he took part in the all-in conference of opposition groups in Pietermaritzburg, where, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, an attempt was made for the last time to resolve the conflict with the apartheid government non-violently. In October 1963 he was banned for five years due to the Suppression of Communism Act ; until February 1964 he was imprisoned again.

In 1958 Gumede began studying law at the University of South Africa , from which he graduated in 1966 with an Attorney's Admission Diploma . In 1966 he was admitted to the bar, and in 1970 he opened his own law firm in Pinetown near Durban . After an appeal by Percy Qobozas in Sowetan in 1979, Gumede joined the Release Mandela Committee , which demanded the release of Nelson Mandela. In 1982 he became chairman of the committee. In 1983, at the founding meeting of the opposition United Democratic Front in Mitchell's Plain near Cape Town, he was elected president of this organization alongside Oscar Mpetha and Albertina Sisulu . In 1984 he was to be arrested again; However, he fled to the British consulate in Durban with five opposition activists who had also been wanted. Diplomatic efforts to lift the arrest warrants were unsuccessful. When Gumede left the consulate after 90 days, the police took him into custody; an indictment of high treason followed . In December 1985 the charges were withdrawn. In the same year he continued to head the organization as UDF president after re-election.

In April 1986 Gumede took part in the funeral services for Moses Mabhida in Maputo . On the fringes of this event, he met Samora Machel .

On February 24, 1988, the UDF and 16 other organizations were once again placed under a ban by the government of South Africa. At the same time, 18 people, including Gumede, were prevented from doing further political work by such a ban. This restriction was not lifted until 1990. From 1994 until his death in 1998 he was a member of the ANC's first freely elected National Assembly .

Archie Gumede was married to Edith Gumede, with whom he had seven children, including Donald Gumede , who was also an ANC MP in the National Assembly until 2019. Edith Gumede died in a traffic accident in 1990.

Awards

In 2003 Gumede was posthumously awarded the Order of Luthuli in silver.

In 2007, Gumede also posthumously received the South African Satyagraha Outstanding Community Service Award .

aftermath

The Archie Gumede Foundation is dedicated to the memory of Gumede.

The Archie Gumede Lectures at Durban University of Technology are dedicated to him. Trevor Manuel gave the first lecture in this series in 2015 under the title Archie Gumede: one of the stars in the struggle for human rights .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i portrait at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on September 22, 2018
  2. ^ John W. de Gruchy: I have come a long way. Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 2016, ISBN 9781498293129 . Excerpts from books.google.de
  3. ↑ a b Shelag Gastrow: Who's Who in South African politics, Number 3 . Ravan Press, Johannesburg 1990, pp. 96-97
  4. ↑ Donald Mlindwa Gumede. pa.org.za, accessed on September 26, 2019
  5. ^ The Presidency: Appreciation on the occasion of the award ceremony thepresidency.gov.za (English), accessed on September 22, 2018
  6. ↑ Description of the order and list of the order bearers on the website of the South African President's Office (as of 2015) (English), accessed on September 22, 2018
  7. ^ Satyagraha Outstanding Community Service Awards. satyagraha.org.za, accessed September 22, 2018
  8. ^ Archie Gumede: one of the stars in the struggle for human rights . saflii.org, accessed on September 22, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Gumede, Archie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gumede, Archibald Jacob (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African politician, lawyer and anti-apartheid activist
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Pietermaritzburg
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 1998
Place of death Durban