PAC Zimbabwe Office Records

Pan Africanist Congress of Azania
Zimbabwe Mission

Records, 1949-1994 (Inclusive), 1983-1994 (Bulk)

University of Fort Hare, National Heritage Cultural Studies Centre

History
Scope and Content
Processing Notes
Box Lists

EXTENT: 3 linear metres

ACQUISITION: Records received by the University of Fort Hare in 1996.

ACCESS: Open pending review by the PAC.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs are located in Box 18.

VIDEO MATERIAL: Videotapes are incorporated in the PAC Audio Visual Materials group. See separate finding aid for description.

AUDIO MATERIAL: Audio tapes are incorporated into the PAC AudioVisual Materials group. See separate finding aid for description.

PRINTED MATERIAL All serial publications have been transferred to the Publications group. See separate finding aid for description.

PROCESSED BY: Noludwe Nandi Lupuwana and Vatiswa Daniel, June,1998.

History

It is not clear from the records when the Zimbabwe office was officially opened as one of the PAC's foreign missions. Correspondence from the collection dates back to 1972 and is addressed as coming from/to the Tanzania office, the PAC external headquarters. Most of the correspondence is signed by/to Edwin Makoti as Administrative Secretary.

During the Central Committee (PAC's highest decision making body) meeting held 21-26 July, 1983, T. M. Ntantala, was appointed as Chief Representative of the PAC in Zimbabwe. As Chief Representative he was answerable to the Tanzania office and his duties entailed:

maintaining and strengthening links with the ruling party, government and embassies,
intensifying communication and establishing links with the homefront,
strengthening administrative machinery of the office to ensure efficiency and stability, and
injecting security consciousness amongst members.

From 1984 Edwin Makoti worked from the Zimbabwe office as Secretary for Publicity and Information, responsible for all PAC publications until he resigned in 1988. He was also active in the day to day running of the office.

In 1984 Elias Mosaka took over as Chief Representative until 1986 when he was recalled to Tanzania. He was succeeded in 1986 by Waters Toboti. Toboti was one of the members of the PAC imprisoned on Robben Island in the early sixties. After that he continued with underground work inside South Africa. During that period he was detained a number of times until he escaped to Lesotho in 1983. He is one of six PAC members who were thrown out of Lesotho due to pressure from the South African government; they subsequently moved to Tanzania where Toboti was deployed to the department of Publicity and Information.

In 1989 Thobile Gola was appointed as Chief Representative and served until 1992 when Joyce Sifuba took over the running of the office as Chief Representative until 1994.

For a general history of the Pan Africanist Congress, please see the finding aid for the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania Collection.

Scope and Content

The records of PAC Zimbabwe collection consist of eight series: PAC Statements, Administration, Obituaries and Biographies, Correspondence, Press Statements, Photographs, Topical Files and Newspaper cuttings.

The PAC Statements series contains statements, lectures and addresses made by PAC officials, spanning from 1949 to 1993. Of interest in this series are the speeches of Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe a founding member and first president of the PAC. Also documented in this series is an address Sobukwe delivered at the University College of Fort Hare on behalf of the graduating class in 1949. Researchers should also consult the Press Statements series for related materials.

The Administration series is subdivided into two subseries: Accounts, Bills and Receipts which span from 1989 to 1994, and Meetings and Reports which consists of agendas, minutes and reports of the Zimbabwe office, plenary sessions of all PAC chief representatives, and other meetings which were attended by PAC.

The Correspondence series consists of correspondence that pertains to educational matters, e.g., correspondence to and from the World University Service and United Nations Development Programme, which sponsored people who were recommended by the PAC. There is also general correspondence arranged chronologically by year and runs from 1956 to 1994. These letters document the connections made by the PAC Zimbabwe mission, as well as the larger PAC organisation, with anti-apartheid organisations, foreign governments and funding organisations.

The Press Statements series consists of press statements and media releases that were made by the PAC Zimbabwe office and the PAC. These were statements that were made in response to editorial comments written about the PAC, events inside South Africa and the world. These statements are dated from 1960 to 1994. Of importance in this series is the media statement made by Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe March, 1960, in which he called on all African people to march against the Pass Laws. This nationwide march led to the Sharpeville massacre during which some 70 people lost their lives.

The Topical Filesconsist of materials gathered by the Zimbabwe mission on various subjects. Other material is from organisations that PAC was either dealing with or a member of. The series is arranged alphabetically. Topics presented include: African Group of Diplomatic Missions, African National Congress, Frontline States, National Council of Trade Unions, National Liberation Movements, Organisation of African Unity and other organisations.

The Newspaper cuttings series contains newspaper cuttings that were kept by the office. They consist of news about PAC, South Africa,and apartheid. This series gives a picture of how PAC and the apartheid system were viewed by foreign media.