ANC violence

Apartheid South Africa denied human rights and civil liberties to blacks, and they could not vote, so a case could be made for the use of some force against the state.

But real life is never as neat as theory. After Mandela turned the ANC to violence in 1961, the ANC committed many crimes and killed many innocents. Mandela is rightly praised for being a rare revolutionary who set up a democracy, but the canonisation of Mandela means that ANC violence cannot be discussed.

There is a lot to admire about Mandela. But it is important to remember that Mandela and the ANC were not peaceful. And some of their actions were basically terrorism.

The ANC bombing campaign.
And search for copies.
Bombing civilian targets with "warnings" is still a war crime.
Mandela is more like Gerry Adams than like Gandhi.

ANC violence in 1961-63

Why was Mandela jailed? Mandela was oppressed for the colour of his skin, but he was not jailed for the colour of his skin. He was jailed for the 1961-63 ANC campaign of violence that he started, and that killed a child when the ANC fire-bombed her home.

The ANC was founded in 1912 and was non-violent for nearly 50 years.
It was Mandela who turned it onto the path of violence.
Mandela turned the ANC to violence in 1961, founding its armed wing MK to carry out attacks.
Trial documents of the Rivonia trial (the Mandela trial) in 1963-64.
Annexure B is a list of acts of violence or sabotage committed in South Africa between December 1961 and August 1963. The list includes:
- 16 Dec 1961. Bombing of "Municipal Bantu Control Office", Dube, Johannesburg. The bomb went off prematurely, killing one of the bombers and injuring the other bomber.
- 15 Dec 1962. ANC kills a black child by fire-bombing her home.
- 18 Jan 1963. Bombing of office of "Die Nataller" newspaper, Durban. One white man injured.

Mandela's men killed a child in 1962

Mandela turned the ANC to violence in 1961. He set up their armed wing MK to carry out attacks.

It is often said that the ANC in 1961-63 only carried out sabotage against government property, and killed no one. But this is a lie. By 1962, Mandela's MK men were already bombing the houses of opponents of the ANC, and they killed a child in 1962 when they fire-bombed her house in the night.

The forgotten victim is Daphne Hoyi. On the night of 15 Dec 1962, the MK fire-bombed the house of a black critic of the ANC, Inkie Hoyi, in Duncan Village. There were children asleep inside. His niece, 14 year old Daphne Hoyi, was badly burnt and died a few days later. His daughter, 10 year old Linda Hoyi, was badly burnt but survived.

Summary of the events. (Date of attack should be 15 Dec.)
Extracts from The Road to Democracy in South Africa, Volume 1: 1960-1970 (also here).

Testimony of Inkie Hoyi.
From AD1901.32.1 in the trial State v. Malcomus Johnson Mgabela Kondoti and 4 others in 1964.

From Evidence of Reginald Mdubi (an ANC bomber) in the Rivonia trial.
He describes joining the new ANC in 1961 to follow the new plan of violence, which he calls the "Mandela Plan".
He describes bombing the houses of blacks who opposed the ANC.
He says they bombed the house of Inkie Hoyi, burning two children, and one of the children died.

Further evidence of Reginald Mdubi confirms the ANC were not just doing "sabotage".
They were bombing blacks who opposed them.
He later talks about the Hoyi bombing again.
Evidence of Bennet Nbuyo Nashigana confirms the Hoyi bombing was an ANC attack, under the "Mandela Plan".
Evidence of Det. Sgt. Donald Card lists a large number of ANC petrol bomb attacks on houses, including the Hoyi attack.

Google search on "Daphne Hoyi" in Dec 2013: 7 results.
Google search on "Nelson Mandela" in Dec 2013: 100 million results.
Talk about the forgotten!

ANC violence in 1980s

1980s violence by the ANC:
- Church St, Pretoria bombing (1983). 19 killed.
- Amanzimtoti shopping centre bomb (1985). 5 killed.
- Magoo's Bar bomb (1986). 3 killed.
- Johannesburg bombing (1987). 3 killed.
- Roodepoort bombing (1988). 4 killed.
- Ellis Park bomb (1988). 2 killed.
- Kwathema polling centre bomb (1988). 1 killed.
- Witbank shopping centre bomb (1988). 2 killed.
- Johannesburg amusement arcade bomb (1988). 10 killed.
- Wimpy bomb (1988). 1 killed.
Mandela directed and approved this violence:
- Nelson Mandela was Deputy President of the ANC 1985 to 1991.
Mandela never renounced or regretted violence:
- As far as I know, Mandela never expressed any regret for this ANC violence.
- If you know otherwise, tell me here.
Yes, South Africa has moved on. People want to forget the past. But my website is all about bringing people unpleasantness. Everyone forgets that Mandela and the ANC were violent.
Thatcher called the ANC bombers "terrorists":
- Margaret Thatcher is often criticised for calling the ANC "terrorist" in 1987. But have her critics ever even heard of the bombings above?
- And even her "terrorist" comment was made in the context of a direct ANC threat to bomb British firms in South Africa! She (quite reasonably, you might think) replied: "This shows what a typical terrorist organisation it is."
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission made some strange decisions.
- All the ANC bombers were forgiven.
- Even the killers in the Saint James Church massacre were forgiven.
- But the assassins of ANC bomber Chris Hani were not forgiven. One was released in 2015 when dying. The other is still in jail as at 2020.
- Eugene de Kock was not forgiven, and was jailed until 2015.

The Irish Times, 24 Dec 1985, reporting on the Amanzimtoti shopping centre bomb attack on white Christmas shoppers.
This was carried out by the MK, the military wing of the ANC. The MK was founded by Mandela.
Mandela was Deputy President of the ANC in 1985 to 1991.

5 year old girl being rushed to hospital after Mandela's bomb at Amanzimtoti shopping centre in 1985. She survived.
The bomb killed her 2 year old brother and an 8 year old girl.
From here, which has more pictures.
Mandela is more like Gerry Adams than like Gandhi.

How many died?

How many people died in political violence under and after apartheid? I have not been able to find reliable figures for how many people died under apartheid in 1948 to 1994, versus how many died in black-on-black violence in 1961 to date. (Maybe because the numbers make apartheid look good, so this is now a taboo subject.)

If you find proper stats for these, tell me here.

Apartheid in South Africa. Last time I looked, the Wikipedia article had attempted no death toll.
Sharpeville massacre, 1960
Soweto uprising, 1976
Black-on-black violence:
- "Necklacing" (the ANC burning people alive).
- ANC - Inkatha violence killed thousands. But how many thousands?
- Boipatong massacre, 1992
- Bisho massacre, 1992
- Shell House massacre, 1994
Black-on-Indian violence:
- Durban Riot, 1949
7,000 killed?
- This blog (and here) gives the following numbers, which are repeated by Andrew C. McCarthy:
  - 7,000 blacks killed in 1948-1989.
  - 14,000 blacks killed in 1990-1994. (92 percent of these were black-on-black killings.)
- However, I have been unable to find where these numbers come from. They were said to be in the TRC but I cannot see them there. If you find the source, tell me here.
- If these stats are true, then, as the above blog says: "More blacks then were killed under De Klerk's 'new' anti-apartheid government of 4 years than in 41 years of government under full blown apartheid!"
- These stats would also say that more white farmers are killed each year now under ANC rule than black people were killed each year under apartheid rule.
6,000 killed?
- Rudolph J. Rummel has some numbers.
- He notes one estimate of 4,000 blacks killed by the apartheid regime in 1985-87 alone. (Is this true?)
- He then gives an lower bound estimate of 6,000 killed by the apartheid regime over its history.
- He gives 5,000 killed in ANC - Inkatha violence in 1985 to 1989.
2,000 killed?
- Matthew White has some numbers.
- He says that The World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators, by Charles Lewis Taylor, lists 1,707 deaths by political violence in South Africa, 1948-1977.
- ANC statement to TRC says: "Between 1990 and 1993, nearly 12,000 civilians were killed .. in thousands of incidents, including several major massacres." But then they reference the Boipatong massacre, so it is clear they are referring to ANC - Inkatha violence.
AIDS in South Africa.
- President Thabo Mbeki and AIDS denialism
- Did the ANC kill 300,000? By some estimates, 300,000 people died because of the ANC government's handling of this issue.

South African population growth (in millions) 1910 to 2010.
Apartheid was not genocide. In fact, by numbers, it was the opposite.
Apartheid led to a massive increase in the black population.
Stats. 1904 census: 3.5 million blacks. 1960 census: 10.9 million blacks. 2011 census: 41 million blacks.
See full size. From The longer walk to equality, The Economist, 6 Dec 2013.

Apartheid also saw a massive increase in black life expectancy (until Mandela destroyed that record).
Note the above is all life expectancy, but blacks were the vast majority of the population for all this period.
From here. Stats here.

By some estimates, 300,000 people died because of Mandela and Mbeki's handling of the AIDS issue.
Found here.

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