Saturday, July 12, 2025

Rebecca Redelmeier

A Journey through ANC History at the Luthuli Museum

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By Rebecca Redelmeier

A visit to the Luthili Museum prompts a reflection on the history of the African National Congress (ANC) by preserving the legacy of its ninth president, Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli. Chief Luthuli served as the ANC President from 1952-1967 and is celebrated for his commitment to opposing white minority rule in South Africa through peaceful means and organised resistance.

The museum was built on the grounds of Chief Luthuli’s original home in Groutville, KwaZulu-Natal. It first opened its doors in 2004 and is funded by the Department of Arts and Culture. The original structure of the house has been preserved and just down the road lies the church where Chief Luthuli’s gravesite lies.

In 1936, Luthuli, who had been working as a teacher, was elected chief of  a Zulu tribe in Groutville. In 1945, he joined the ANC, just three years before the National Party came into power and began to implement the disenfranchisement policies for which it would become notorious. Chief Luthuli motivated the party to pursue peaceful means of resistance. When he was elected ANC president in 1952, the National Party government refused to allow him to hold both the presidency and the title of chief. Though the government revoked his chieftainship, the community resisted and continued to view him as their leader.

During most of the time that Chief Luthuli served as ANC president, he was banned by the government from leaving the Groutville district under the Suppression of Communism Act. Even so constrained, Chief Luthuli continued to lead the movement in organised and non-violent resistance. He was the first ANC leader to call for an international boycott of South African goods and was visited by international leaders, including Robert F. Kennedy. In 1960, he became the first African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At the time, his movement ban was only temporarily lifted for ten days so that he could travel to Oslo to receive the award.

Chief Luthuli died in 1967 while he was still serving as ANC president. Though the formal report on his death states that he was hit by a train near his home, both the autopsy of the body and context of his death suggest that story to be unlikely. There continue to be calls to re-examine his cause of death as many believe that it was a planned attack by the Apartheid government.

Today, Chief Luthuli is regarded as one of the key contributors to South African democracy. He advocated for a bill of rights and believed a constitutional court would uphold the ideals of the nation. Though he died before either were realised, his work paved the way for the ANC leaders who succeeded him. Today, the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg bears the name of Luthuli House in his honour.

Photo of the Day – March 2, 2018

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Everaldo Matonse at work in his studio at the BAT Centre, an arts collaboration and community space  in downtown Durban. Matonse grew up in Maputo, Mozambique and came to Durban in 2003 to chase his dream of being an artist. He has worked from his studio in the BAT Centre since 2006 where he makes intricate wood prints inspired by the culture that he was raised in.

Photo of the Day: February 16, 2018

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Authors Christie van der Westhuizen and Melanie Judge in conversation about their writing at Ikes Books and Collectables in Durban. Van der Westhuizen is the author of the recently released book, Sitting Pretty: White Afrikaans Women in Postapartheid South Africa and Judge has recently published Blackwashing Homophobia: Violence and the Politics of Sexuality, Gender, and Race.

– Rebecca Redelmeier

Zuma Resigns, Ramaphosa to Take Over

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Main Photo: MPs seen on South African TV channel, eNCA, shortly before the parliamentary session was set to begin this afternoon.

By Rebecca Redelmeier

Following President Jacob Zuma’s resignation last night, South Africa was today waiting for parliament to elect the country’s next leader. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa took over as the acting president of South Africa immediately after Zuma’s resignation. He was expected to be officially elected as the new president of South Africa in parliament this afternoon.  

Ramaphosa has been deputy president of South Africa since 2014, and president of the ruling party since December 2017 when he won a succession battle against Jacob Zuma’s former wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. 

The presidential election this afternoon will replace a vote of no confidence that had been scheduled to be held in parliament today. The vote of no confidence motion was  proposed by the opposition EFF, the Economic Freedom Fighters, who also called for the dissolution of parliament and for new national elections.

Prior to last night’s late-night resignation, the ANC parliamentary caucus had agreed that they would use their political majority to force him out in the EFF’s vote of no confidence. By resigning before the midnight deadline his party had given him, Zuma prevented the opposition from claiming victory for his departure.

Many South Africans have taken to social media to welcome Zuma’s resignation but some, particularly in Zuma’s home province of Kwazulu-Natal, have expressed unhappiness. 

Zuma’s resignation comes after months of allegations of corruption against him. During his nine years as president of South Africa, allegations piled up accusing him of permitting the wealthy Gupta family to have undue influence over decisions of government, and of allowing inappropriate state spending on his personal home.

Even as Zuma offered his resignation, he remained adamant that he had done nothing wrong, and that the ANC had treated him unfairly by failing to tell him what they thought he had done wrong. 

“I serve in my capacity as President of the Republic of South Africa within the prism of our much acclaimed Constitution, whose foundational values I fully subscribe to,” Zuma said during his resignation speech last night.

Ramaphosa is expected to deliver the State of the Nation address on Friday when he will speak to his vision for South Africa’s future.

UPDATE: February 15, 5:04 p.m. Cyril Ramaphosa was elected this afternoon as the president of South Africa. He was sworn in following the vote and will deliver the State of the Nation Address on Friday.

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