Harry Gwala
Source: Web (iol.co.za)
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇿🇦 South Africa • 0 views

Harry Gwala 🇿🇦

Themba Harry Gwala (Known as "The Lion of Pietermaritzburg")
Anti-Apartheid Leader, Robben Island Prisoner, SACP/ANC Stalwart, Educator
Born 1920-07-30 🇿🇦 New Scotland, South Africa
Passed Away 1995-06-20 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Lifespan 74 years old
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"My arms may be dead, but my heart beats for freedom, and my tongue will speak for the revolution until my dying breath."

Archival Overview

Fierce anti-apartheid revolutionary known as 'The Lion of Pietermaritzburg', who spent over twenty years on Robben Island, losing the use of both arms yet remaining an unshakeable leader.

Biographical Record

Themba Harry Gwala was born on July 30, 1920, in New Scotland, Natal. Qualifying as a teacher at Adams College, he joined the SACP in 1942 and the ANC in 1944, organizing railway and chemical workers in Pietermaritzburg.

Arrested in 1964 and sentenced to eight years on Robben Island, Gwala was arrested again in 1975 for recruiting for Umkhonto we Sizwe and sentenced to life imprisonment. While on Robben Island, severe motor neuron disease paralyzed both his arms, but his fierce intellect and Marxist lectures commanded profound respect. Released on humanitarian grounds in 1988, he led the ANC in the violent Natal Midlands conflict and was elected to parliament in 1994, awarded the Isitwalandwe Medal.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Swayimane Cemetery
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
GPS: -29.5167, 30.6167
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