To mark the centenary birthday of Harry Gwala, Dr Essop Pahad pays tribute to one of the most prominent stalwarts of the ANC and the SACP.
I knew about Comrade Harry Gwala long before I met him. His profound contribution to the work of the African National Congress (ANC) and SA Communist Party (SACP) and SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions) was well known to us as young activists in the ‘50s.
I first had the honour and privilege to meet Comrade Gwala in London, around 1988/89. He had recently been released from life imprisonment on Robben Island as a result of his health suffering major setbacks due to the motor neuron disease.
In London, he also met with the late comrade Mzala (Jabulani Nxumalo), although Mzala was much younger than Comrade Gwala. They struck up a very close friendship and comradeship. They spent many hours discussing theoretical and practical questions pertaining to the revolutionary process in our country and the continent – Africa.
In my discussions with Comrade Gwala, I found out that he had a razor-sharp mind, intellectual depth, and a deep commitment and loyalty to our Revolutionary Alliance.
Comrade Gwala was a highly disciplined cadre and leader of our Movement. He had joined the Communist Party in 1940, and he was also very proud of his political attachment to the Soviet Union (USSR) and other Socialist countries.
I remember when he came to London, after visiting the German Democratic Republic (GDR), he was full of praise for the GDR and the Socialist Unity Party (East German Communist Party). When I said to him that I did not believe that GDR would survive for long due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Comrade Gwala was very angry with me for my words. And I recall years later, I met him at the ANC Head Offices, he always stood upright with his hands at his side.
He looked at me in the eyes and sternly rebuked me for telling him that the GDR was going to collapse. Comrade Gwala had a deep sense of loyalty to the Socialist World.
In Comrade Gwala we had a fearless freedom fighter, a devoted Communist and one of the leading Marxist-Leninist theoreticians of our Movement. When he served in the Central Committee (CC) of the SACP he was never afraid to express his view, even when it was a minority one.
Unfortunately Comrade Gwala could at times be unforgiving of his political opponents. He was sometimes too rigid and inflexible in relation to some aspects of the theoretical and ideological underpinnings of the national democratic revolution in our country and in the African continent.
Comrade Gwala was a very close friend and confidant of Oom Gov Mbeki. They shared many common positions on the importance of the relationship between the ANC and the SACP and on the dialectical interconnection and relationship between the national and class question in our nation.
I democratic revolution. There is no doubt that these two giants of our struggle have made a monumental contribution to the theory and practice of the revolutionary process in our country.
On Robben Island Gwala’s political education classes had a huge influence on ANC political prisoners. But he could also be rigid, doctrinaire and stubborn in defending his own understanding and interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, and somewhat extreme in the manner in which he characterised other leaders on the island.
Eddy Moloka, in his book ‘The South African Communist Party’ quotes another hero and brave leader of the ANC, Wilton Mkwayi, “that amongst the old leadership Oom Gov was the only one who was not a sell-out; the rest were. Gwala claimed that everybody else is a sell-out, including myself, Joe Gqabi and so on.”
In paying respect and homage to fearless freedom fighters such as Harry Gwala we should learn the correct lessons from their lives, work and contribution. But we should also not commit the same mistakes and exhibit similar weaknesses when assessing and evaluating, debating and working with other leaders and members. We must not rush to judgement when others do not agree with us and we should desist from interpreting Marxism-Leninism in a mechanical and doctrinaire manner.
In 1994 the Central Committee of the SACP suspended Comrade Gwala. My recollection of CC discussions leading to the suspension was that he took public positions on some issues relating to political developments in KwaZulu-Natal which were not consistent with the policies of the Party.
Once the CC had arrived at a collective decision, it was incumbent on Party members and leaders to pursue that collective decision even if one was not in agreement with it.
That was consistent with the norms and criteria of democratic centralism. When asked to retract his public criticism of party policies Comrade Gwala refused and the CC regarded this as ill-discipline on his part. For that reason the CC suspended Comrade Gwala from his membership, but later the suspension was lifted. He remained a loyal member till his death.
As we reflect on and celebrate the centenary birthday of one of our heroes at this current juncture of our hard-won democracy, we should understand and appreciate that our members and leaders must exhibit the highest form of discipline and loyalty to the principles and policies of our movement.
We must intensify the fight against all forms of corruption, factionalism and sectarianism that are now undermining our glorious movement.
And whatever our differences are, we should debate them in an open and robust way, aiming to improve the lives of our people, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable – not in the interest of ourselves, our friends or our families.
* Dr Essop Pahad is an SACP and ANC veteran, and former Minister in the Presidency of Thabo Mbeki.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL.