and Henry Gordon Makgothi, whose uncle, Squire Makgothi, had taught him at Pimville (Gordon was also known as Squire to those who knew his uncle). The confidence of these boys and their principled stance on a number of critical issues was amazing. ‘They were ambitious and exhibited an advanced level of political consciousness. They were confident and could stand their ground without losing their cool. They seemed to have the respect of both teachers and students.’
Later, when he had settled down at St Peter’s, Andrew also met new students who, over time, he found to be more than mere learners. One was Joe Matthews, a bright young man from an affluent and highly political family. They called him ‘professor’, a name derived from the title of his father, ZK Matthews, a university lecturer and high ranking member of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). This boy, although three years younger than Andrew, emerged as one of the people Andrew would admire and treat with great respect. Joe Matthews had lived in Durban and the Eastern Cape and had studied at the famous Lovedale College in Alice before St Peter’s. ‘Joe Matthews was already a politically sharpened machine, groomed to lead, and he seemed to understand it.’ Andrew would later get closer to boys such as John Mpolokeng, Alfred Hutchinson and Fats Ngakane.
He found Henry Makgothi, Nokwe, Matthews and Mpolokeng to be very gifted at debate. These young men were the core of the St Peter’s debating team that other schools found difficult to defeat. As a team they had a system of debate that allowed for the introduction of the topic, followed by the argument, and the last part of the debate would summarise the facts and destroy the opposition’s arguments. The last part was affectionately called ‘sweeping’ in the St Peter’s lingo – where the opposition’s arguments were swept away. Makgothi, with his simple and relaxed style, sometimes mocking and sarcastic, was good at introducing the topic. ‘He would intimidate the opposition from the start, and reduce its confidence.’ Joe Matthews’s speciality was the middle part of the debate, with his well-researched analysis of the facts and the way in which he lined up the arguments and the sub-topics. Nokwe was the ‘destroyer’ or ‘sweeper’, killing whatever argument the opposition raised. Looking up and down and sideways as he spoke, he argued like a seasoned leader addressing cheering masses. ‘With such a combination, the St Peter’s team was unbeatable.’
Andrew did not, however, find all the students he admired to be sociable. Some students from wealthier backgrounds associated with each other rather than with those from poorer backgrounds like himself. He found Joe Matthews, in particular, to be easier with students from wealthy backgrounds. He seemed proud that he was born in Durban and that he was one of the five children of the learned Frieda and ZK Matthews (Frieda was born into the highly respected Bokwe Family and had studied at Fort Hare). With that kind of family and political background, he was regarded as a member of the aristocracy. ‘He therefore leaned more towards Nokwe and Mpolokeng who matched that background.’
The rich political environment of St Peter’s was to play a very significant role in Andrew’s political development. Having observed the housing problems and the beginning of the squatter movements, he had become more conscious of black politics than he had been before he came to Johannesburg. At first he thought of black politics as being simply about the poor living conditions of the blacks and the way they were treated by the political system, especially the police who enforced most of the laws that violated their freedoms.
James Sofasonke Mpanza was one of his earliest political influences. The role played by his brother Sekila in the native advisory boards had also added to his political consciousness. He had been observing most of the activities of these boards, and the issues they dealt with, for some time. Sekila used to attend community meetings at Ballendene Hall in Pimville and Andrew would sometimes accompany him. He took note of the concerns raised by community members, which were mostly about poor roads in the township, crime, poverty and segregation. Although Sekila’s influence extended only to community issues, it played a part in shaping Andrew’s political consciousness. Sekila also introduced Andrew to a ‘hangup’ place in Pimville, called Thababosiu (the name derived from the capital of the founder of the Basotho kingdom) – a place where people in the township met and socialised. They played traditional games like morabaraba and ncuva and discussed the issues of the day that affected them. These helped him to understand the daily challenges urban black people were facing. He took particular interest in the behaviour of police and the way they treated the black people of Pimville, especially those who were trading in African traditional beer, umqombothi. He thought even common-law criminals were treated better than those found to be selling African traditional beer or not in possession of ‘dompasses’, the identity document meant for blacks through which the government controlled almost their entire lives. He observed that African traditional beer was one of the most popular commodities that black people sold and derived income from in Pimville. This had led the nearby Kliptown police station to have a special command under a man known to the residents of Pimville as Semomane, a white policeman who took no nonsense from African traditional beer traders. ‘Everyone from the very young to the very old knew him.’ Residents of Pimville had a way of dealing with Semomane and the ruthless squad of police he commanded. They knew that every time he conducted a raid with his men he would use the only entrance to the township. The first resident to see him and his squad as they entered the township would scream ‘Khukhukhu!’ This was the community’s signal to alert one another of the arrival of Semomane and his team. The first residents to hear the signal would echo the cry and the signal would be transmitted like that throughout the township. It was a sign to say ‘police are here!’ and it was understood by all in Pimville.
People also creatively hid their traditional beer from the police. They would dig trenches outside their yards, and cover beer containers neatly with grass. If the beer was discovered outside the yards the only thing the police could do was to destroy it – they could not make any arrest as it was difficult to link it to anyone. But Semomane knew almost everyone in the township and their tricks. He would hunt for the trenches and destroy the beer.
The misery of life in the township raised Andrew’s political consciousness. His first active participation in politics, however, came through a rather docile structure that he formed with Moorosi in Pimville, early in 1944. It was called the Pimville Students and Ex-Students League. Moorosi became the chairman and organiser, a lad by the name of Andries Mazibuko became the secretary, and Andrew was its first deputy secretary. The structure focused on lecturing about good behaviour for young people, respect for adults and how youth could be useful in the community. It organised youth camps and education workshops on local politics. Mild as it was, it was a stepping stone for Andrew towards the ladder that would take him to the heights of political activism.
Soon after this structure was established, Andrew approached his cousin, Eric Ntjane, to help him establish a branch of the organisation at St Peter’s. Ntjane was younger than Andrew but, like many others, ahead of him at school. Ntjane suggested that they approach Tambo for advice. Andrew still regarded Tambo as a teacher more than anything else, although Tambo was gaining respect as the leader of the newly formed ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and associating with the likes of Nelson Mandela, Anton Lembede and Walter Sisulu, some of the rising young political leaders of the time. Ntjane and other students, ahead of Andrew’s still maturing worldview, already regarded Tambo as a political activist and leader. When Andrew and Ntjane approached Tambo he discouraged them from going ahead with the formation of the branch of their organisation at school and warned that this would not go well with Darling. ‘Sdakwa won’t like it,’ he said. ‘It would later appear as if Tambo was protecting his newly formed ANCYL’s programme, as he later spearheaded the formation of its branch at the school,’ said Andrew years later. The next step for Andrew was to join the Young Communist League (YCL) in Pimville with other youths in the township, including Robert Mahlangeni, Archie Sibeko, Simon Thomas and another whom he would remember only as Morgan. Simon Thomas, whom he would proudly describe as ‘a handsome coloured boy who spoke fluent Sotho’, had come from Alexandra.
With these young minds, Andrew would embrace the communist ideology and entrench it in others after him. His association with the YCL changed him completely and laid the foundation for his future political views and activism. In one of the many YCL meetings he attended he met a young woman, Ruth First, who was a student at the University of the Witwatersrand and one of the prominent