James Moroka

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James Sebe Moroka (born March 16, 1891 in Thaba Nchu ; † November 10, 1985 ibid) was a South African doctor, politician and from 1949 to 1952 President of the African National Congress (ANC).

Life

Moroka's family, who belonged to the Barolong , owned property in the Orange Free State . Moroka attended Wesleyan Elementary School in Ratlou Village and then went to high school at Lovedale Mission . With the support of the Scottish clergyman MacDonald, he went to Edinburgh via Southampton in 1911 , where, with further support, he completed the Matric and in 1918 was able to obtain his medical degree at the University of Edinburgh . Before his return, Moroka worked in an English country practice. Back in South Africa, he opened a doctor's practice in his hometown, which was able to establish itself successfully.

As a result of the Hertzog laws , Moroka became politically active and took on a leading role as treasurer of the All African Convention (AAC) in 1936. He saw himself in radical opposition to Hertzog and firmly refused to compromise. In 1942 he was elected as a candidate for the Transvaal in the Natives' Representative Council (NRC), which he stood against the general policy of the AAC, which boycotted the elections . He remained a member of the NRC until 1950.

In December 1949 he was elected President of the ANC, although he was not a member of the party at the time. His election was due to the support of the ANC Youth League under the leadership of Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela , who wanted to replace Alfred Bitini Xuma because of his nonviolent and moderate politics. Although Moroka stayed mainly in his hometown and did not move to Johannesburg near the ANC headquarters, he was involved in the planning and organization of the Defiance Campaign and other publicity campaigns of the ANC. In the subsequent trial based on the Suppression of Communism Act in 1952 against him and other members of the ANC and the South African Indian Congress ( British Crown vs. Sisulu and 19 others , judgment of July 30), Moroka separated from the others Accused, took his own lawyer and tried to defuse the apartheid regime . His reputation was severely damaged at the end of the trial when his attorney filed a motion for extenuating circumstances, which he based on Moroka's previous support in school matters for his white farm neighbors. He was discredited in the eyes of most ANC members because this argument is said to have had no relation to the formulation of the charges. At the national conference of the ANC in mid-December 1952, he ran with Albert Luthuli and received little support in the ballot, which came from the delegates from the Orange Free State . Soon after, he was expelled from the ANC. His successor as ANC President was Albert Luthuli.

Moroka retired to his hometown, where he died in 1985.

Honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Albert Luthuli: My country, my life . Christian Kaiser Verlag , Munich 1963, pp. 162–163
personal data
SURNAME Moroka, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Moroka, James Sebe; Moroka, James S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African doctor, politician and President of the ANC
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Thaba Nchu
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 1985
Place of death Thaba Nchu