I know of and regularly make use of two streets in particular: the M77 in Soweto (to easily get to the West Rand from Soweto) and the R104 (between Gauteng & The North West Province). Add residential areas, clinics and a municipality that is named after this gentleman to the list.

He was one of the eight people sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rivonia trial in 1963. Having a look at what his life story teaches, I must say, the words ‘detained’ & ‘banned’ are synonymous with him and it’s fitting he be next, following my previous post on another trade unionists.

Elias Motsoaledi was born on the 26th July 1924 in Phokoane Sekhukhuneland, Limpopo, a municipality that is now named in his honour. He joined the Communist Party of South Africa in 1945 where he made his impact to the struggle.

He worked in a leather factory at the time, formed a union and as a result of his activism and trade unionism, got fired. He was an instrumental figure the 1950s for forming the Congress Alliance – an idea to promote interracial unionism. He was also banned from holding any positions in the unions in the same year. He organized civil disobedience campaigns in 1952 which also got him banned.

He also got detained during the after math of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 and again in 1963 (under the detention laws) and got improsoned for months. Upon his release, he served on the Mkhonto Wesizwe (MK) command.

It was in 1963 where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his MK involvement alongside Nelson Mandela at Robben Island where he served 26 years before his release in 1989. He got elected to the ANC National Executive Committee in 1991 and sadly passed on a day before Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as President of South Africa.

Banned & detained countless times but not forgotten.

Credit to sahistory.org.za

Remember The Silent Heroes.