6 February
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is saddened by the passing of one of its leaders, Comrade Magwaza Alfred Maphalala. He passed away last night in Cape Town after a short illness. He was born as the only son on 06 April 1948 in Bergville (Ladysmith, Natal). He finished his early education and matric in Bergville before moving to look for work in Durban.
He joined the trade union movement in the 1970s following the wave of the 1973 Durban strikes. He spent a significant part of his adult life working for trade unions including with the Transport and General Workers’ Union.
He was recruited into the underground structures of the ANC and the SACP in the 1970s.
In 1981, under the instruction of the late SACP General Secretary and senior leader of the ANC, Comrade Moses Mabhida, Maphalala attended the underground conference of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU). He was an underground operative reporting directly to Moses Mabhida. He represented SACTU internationally at the International Labour Organisation and other international forums.
In 1983, he was elected the General Secretary of the National Federation of Workers. In September 1985, he was arrested in Durban under the notorious detention without trial law for his alleged involvement in the then banned ANC and SACP. He was detained for a full year without charges.
He was involved in the unity talks that led to the formation of COSATU in 1985. In 1986, he left the country whilst his wife, Nombuso, had left a year earlier and was operating from Lusaka, Zambia. Whilst working for SACTU in Zambia, he was sent to a trade union college in Moscow for an advanced course in trade union leadership. After his return in mid-1987, he served as the SACTU Administrative Secretary until SACTU disbanded in the early 1990s.
He returned to South Africa in 1990 following the unbanning of the ANC, SACP and other organisations. He was appointed as an educator in the National Education Department of the Postal and Telecommunications’ Association (POTWA).
In 1993, he was appointed an educator by the COSATU Natal Region. In 1994, he was elected as the regional secretary of the SACP in Southern Natal. In 1995, he was elected as the first SACP Provincial Secretary in KwaZulu Natal. He held this position until 1998. In 1995, he was appointed by the ANC to lead the local government election campaign.
In 1997, he was elected as the Provincial Secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union in KwaZulu Natal. At the 1998 SACP Provincial Congress he received the highest number of votes as a PEC member. He has been a member of the SACP KwaZulu Natal Provincial Executive Committee since 1998. In the 1999 general elections, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly for the ANC.
His courage and leadership will be dearly missed. He leaves behind his wife, Nombuso, four daughters and one son (Sibongile, Amandla, Ayanda, Nhlanhla and Zamansele).
The ANC-SACP-COSATU-SANCO Alliance dip their revolutionary banners in honour of this selfless leader, community worker, trade unionist, negotiator and communist.
ISSUED BY
Smiso Nkwanyana – SACP KwaZulu Natal
Provincial Secretary
Cell 082 468 7184