He was a champion of the marginalised

KV Moodley pays tribute to his friend Mohammed Hanef Bhamjee, who died a fortnight ago

Mohammed Hanef Bhamjee, my close friend and comrade and brother of Yusuf Bhamjee, passed away peacefully on Saturday January 8 after a brief illness. He was 76.

From an early age Hanef was exposed to the effects of apartheid by not being able to attend a local school in Wolmaransstad. He had to travel quite a distance to a school in an “African” area. This sparked his dedication to the struggle for a free, democratic, nonracial SA.

Hanef was born in 1946 and his family moved to Pietermaritzburg in 1957, where he was enrolled at Nizamia Primary School. We met in standard 4. My poor working-class background and his political awakening led to us becoming lifelong friends.

At the age of 15, Hanef recruited and organised a group of students, all older than he was, to attend informal political education classes every week. He was part of a study group that included Truman Magubane, Harry Gwala and Goolam Suberdar, who played a significant role in shaping Hanef’s marxist thinking.

Dr Chota Motala, with whom Hanef also worked at this time, later likened Hanef to a 1976 cadre active in the 1960s. Both were instrumental in the formation of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the Natal Indian Youth Congress, from which Hanef recruited many of us to do underground work for Umkhonto we Sizwe in the area.

This included organising boycotts, distributing pamphlets, holding political education camps and painting slogans calling for the end of apartheid and the repeal of the 90-day detention laws.

Hanef also recruited young activists to engage in social responsibility projects that exposed them to the inhumane effects of apartheid. This resulted in Hanef being harassed by the local security branch, leading to interrogation on a number of occasions before and during his matriculation year in 1964.

Increasing harassment

Subject to increasing harassment and on the advice of senior comrades, Hanef left SA to further his political education and training and to link up with the exiled leadership of the ANC in London. He plunged into the political activities of the ANC, SACP, Anti-Apartheid Movement and International Defence and Aid Fund, connecting with Oliver Tambo, Dr Yusuf Dadoo and Joe Slovo. He was engaged in organising student political education classes all around the UK, in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Dublin.

While being a disciplined member of the ANC and SACP, Hanef was an independent thinker with a keen grasp of politics and the struggle. He didn’t hesitate to speak his mind and criticise leadership. This sometimes brought him into conflict with fellow activists.

In 1971, after completing a degree in social science at Birmingham University, Hanef relocated to Cardiff, Wales, to continue with a master’s degree. He did not complete this degree as he was preoccupied with the founding of the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement (WAAM). Hanef served as WAAM secretary from 1972 until 1994, when Action for Southern Africa was formed.

He initially earned a living as a sociology tutor at the University of Cardiff and later became a human rights lawyer. Based in Cardiff, Hanef travelled throughout the UK drumming up support for the struggle against apartheid and addressing major conferences such as the UN committee on the Boycott Apartheid movement.

Hanef’s work in the WAAM led to him being awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2003 in recognition of his “services to race relations, the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement and the charity and voluntary sector”. He accepted this award on behalf of the thousands of members and volunteers of WAAM.

In SA in 2009, the Gandhi Development Trust presented Hanef with a Satyagraha Award for his “contribution to the struggle for freedom in South Africa”.

Characteristically, in his acceptance speech he was scathing in his criticism of corruption and lack of delivery of services, as well as the jostling for power and patronage among comrades. He was also critical of the many individuals who became extremely wealthy as beneficiaries of BEE but did not give back some of their wealth to the communities from which they came.

Humble and caring

Hanef viewed his involvement in the struggle as being of service to the poor and marginalised. He was a humble, caring person, a committed revolutionary, a socialist and internationalist, a freedom fighter and fearless champion of social justice.

His political education, practical work and thinking influenced a whole generation of activists in London, Dublin, Wales, Mumbai and SA. His contribution to the vital third pillar of the struggle against apartheid, namely the international boycott and isolation of the apartheid regime, has not been given due recognition in the country of his birth, perhaps as a result of his strident criticism and courage in talking truth to power.

The greatest tribute one can pay to Hanef is to emulate the ideals that he stood for as we celebrate his life and continue the struggle. Hamba kahle, comrade Hanef.