Mkhulu Credo Mutwa

A life's history - the life and struggle of artist Zanele Mashinini

Penned by Professor Franco Frescura One of the truisms coined by the old Anti-Apartheid Movement is that there can be no normal life in the context of an abnormal society. It is also true that artistic endeavour can only flourish when it is part of a struggle against adversity, against the symbols of an oppressive ideology, and against the actions of a fascist regime, one that sets out to imprison its citizens inside a web of totalitarian laws which limit their thoughts and actions. It is only when inspired by a real need to achieve freedom that an art of Freedom can be achieved, for no art of any meaning has ever achieved freedom from the confines of a polite salon, from a contented and self-satisfied society raised on “braaivleis, sunny skies and Chevrolets”. The international youth culture of the 1970s railed against this when it prayed for “a night on the town, a Mecedes Benz, and a colour TV”, and when its anthems proclaimed that “we’ve gotta get out of this place” before we become “just another brick in the wall”. South Africans suffering under the yoke of Apartheid had different Freedom songs, anthems that rose out of the “townships”, out of broken families divided by a heartless migrant labour system, out of the starvation camps of Dimbaza and Kromdraai, out of our young people in exile in Tanzania and Angola, out of our leaders on the Island, and out of the misery of the many mixed-race lovers who loved unwisely. Orlando was such a place, born out of the demolition of homes legitimately built at Sophiatown, whose residents were resettled by the police at gun point in tents in the bare veld, with the bitterly cold winds of a Highveld winter sweeping about them. Orlando thus became the new home of musicians and poets, of writers and artists and dancers ans singers, of the Matteras and Sekotos of a new South Africa that was struggling to survive against the onslaught of fascist politicians and stony-faced government officials. And it was here that Zanele Mashinini was born and raised. It was here that, at the tender age of three he began sketching on scraps of paper, encouraged by a mother who, at, every possible occasion, impressed upon him that to every birth there is a certain mission to be undertaken. In the same breath his mother, MaMoloi, was laying down a foundation for the young child to understand that to accomplish certain purposes in life one needed to connect with them to their fullest core. In consequence, it is important to embrace ones talents wholeheartedly in order to reach greater heights. Mashinini senior on the other hand, liked to joke that his son knew how to mix colour schemes long before he could actually see the rainbow. Interestingly enough though, it was Zanele's mother who, later on in life, encouraged her son to follow his dreams and to enroll in an arts training programme which led him to achieve many firsts. It should be noted that, during the dark days of segregation, Zanele entered formal art education at a time when the field of visual arts was not attracting as many young artists to its ranks as it does today. At the time the Black community already had its fair share of noted artists, whose work was finding national and overseas recognition. These artists had already conquered the world and had etched their names in the international annals of art history, but under the Apartheid system were anomalies which fell outside the illiterate bounds of segregated labour. As a result these giants were hounded by the Security Police, who kept them under constant surveillance and, because of their progressive political views, labeled them as “subversive troublemakers or terrorists." Consequently, many of them were induced to seek the more liberal airs of Paris, London and New York, where their talents were better accepted, and even admired. Such artists had to create alternative avenues for their voices to be heard, and Zanele was exposed to the works of legendary visual artists such as Gerald Sekoto, Louis Maqhubela, Fikile Magadlela, Thamsanqa Myele, Dumile Feni, Lefifi Tladi, Pitika Ntuli, Earnest Mancoba and Louis Maqhubela to name just a few. Thanks to publications such as The Voice, Staff Rider and a host of other alternative media which gave a voice to the marginalized masses, Zanele came to realize that artists were also opinion makers. As a consequence of his love for the arts Zanele was also exposed to the “Black Jesus”, a “controversial” painting created by Ronald Harrison who was then teaching at King Edwards VII School, and taught a number of young artists who became influential in their time. As a result a number of White artists and architects such Franco Frescura and Gavin Young who also played a part in the anti-Apartheid movement, unknowingly because contemporaries of the young Zanele. A visit to the Wits Department of Architecture brought him into contact with Professor Amacio d'Alpoim Miranda Guedes, better known as Pancho, and his son Gordofrido Guedes both of whom took an interest in the young artist. Pancho presented Zanele with a book of graphics done by his son, which proved to be greatly influential upon his linear drawings. Little by little the spirit of rebellion was emerging in the graphic work of the young Zanele. At the Orlando AB Xuma Lower Primary “the artistic bug was beginning to rise like a Phoenix cloud”. More and more children began to ask Zanele to help with their own drawings, a task he accepted without much persuasion. Later, Zanele taught visual arts to children from underdeveloped communities. While the artist in him had had the benefit of a loving family his creativity began to expand when the philosophy of a Black Conscious cultural activism introduced more and more youngsters to the visual arts as a medium of political expression. At the time, in 1976, this project aimed at providing an education for youngsters who were not attending school due to the upheavals in their streets. In those heydays the seed for the arts was sprouting, especially at a time when the late Matsemela Manaka and his comrades were giving their time in order to nurture youngsters through the idioms of artistic expression. As he began to mature as an artist in his own right, his grandmother took Zanele to an artist in Orlando West, Basil Baqwa. Basil was already an established and working artist who brushed shoulders with some of the famous artists such as the Fikile Magadlela, Cyril Khumalo Percy Sedumedi, and others. The young Zanele was given some lessons by Basil which gave him enough ammunition to navigate on his own. It was Zanele's elder brother Sibusiso Saul Mashinini (a.k.a Minus) who would tease and lampoon his images. He would laugh at whatever attempt he made to reconfigure in his drawings. Little did Minus realise that his criticism became the building blocks to inspire Zanele and make him an exceptional craftsman. It was Minus who later heaped praise on the powerful anti-apartheid graphics that Zanele was producing. Zanele’s first commercial break came in 1996 when his graphic work came to the notice of the South African Post office. As a result he was commissioned to design a stamp celebrating the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, in the process becoming the first Black South African to receive such an honour, and breaking a social barrier which had stood for 86 years. Other honours were soon to follow. His alma mater, Orlando High School inducted his name onto its Alumni Roll of Honour, whose top hundred names feature some of South African most prominent luminaries drawn from such diverse field as media, medicine, sport, science, education, engineering, arts, culture, and politics. This Roll now graces the wall of his former school, an inspiration to new generations of aspiring scholars and athletes. Next, the Sofasonke Mpanza Legacy Foundation, which pioneered the initiative, honoured Zanele for his outstanding role as a community builder, for his outstanding achievements in the arts and culture, and for his contribution to building sustainable communities locally and internationally. The seminal "Africa We Care" icon created by Zanele, is ranked by Google amongst the fourteen globally most used HIV and AIDS education logos. Many of his linear artworks drawn during the 1980s were used as protest banners during the anti-Apartheid campaigns. Trained as a visual artist, photo-journalist, event organiser, graphic artist, creative writer, cinematographist and cartoonist, Zanele has always had his heart on the ground working for the betterment of his community. He has decades of experience having worked within grassroots organizations as well as government and health sectors. In 1993 Zanele was granted permission by the nearly-defunct Nationalist Party government to take photographs on Robben Island as part of a photographic essay. The resultant exhibition was held in Cape Town and at the UNESCO offices in Paris. Zanele was also an avid reader, and literally devoured all sorts of texts, from both fact and fiction. He was a frequent visitor to the United States Information Services (USIS) library located at the Donaldson Community Centre, popularly known to its visitors as DOCC. He familiarised himself with a wide range of subjects from African American literature, politics, philosophy, music, dance, cinematography, poetry, theatre, creative writing, storytelling, dramatic arts, photography, and crafts. The doyen of township theatre, Bra Gibson Kente, trained artists only a stone’s throw away from his home and became a great source of inspiration. This further enhanced interest for the versatile multitalented artist to explore his talents. Zanele's literary highlights include writing the lyrics for the “Vuka Africa” single, which featured more than three hundred eminent South African artists. In addition Zanele is a founder member of African Musicians Against HIV/AIDS (AMAHA), was Project Manager for Arts for Life, and Business Development Manager in a publishing outfit. He is presently a Board Member of Ubuntu Phansi Museum. The “Mother of all Mothers” artwork is a piece donated to Ubuntu Phansi Museum for its outreach projects. The proceeds will benefit predominantly women crafters in need of setting up sustainable businesses. Today Zanele’s work is guided by a simple philosophy. “My art is mainly influenced by the Spirits. I therefore, am a voice that will never be silenced because I need no validation. My work flows from places I don't know. If others carry guns to challenge the diabolic status quo. I carry a more potent armory: my ART”.

AFRICA WE CARE POSTER

Commemorative Stamp

https://www.google.co.za/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj63amexJriAhWE4IUKHZYoCkoQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26ved%3D%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.africastamps.co.uk%252FSouth-African-Stamps%252FSA-Commemoratives%252FCommemoratives-RSA-1990.html%26psig%3DAOvVaw0WrCDFs-8mOpuFO7aLHtwz%26ust%3D1557906496046048&psig=AOvVaw0WrCDFs-8mOpuFO7aLHtwz&ust=1557906496046048

Soul of Soweto

Soul of Soweto … so … so spirits of struggle spirits sacrificed shadows slaughtered sold out septic sores silenced screwed suffering scared scars on my soul same shit secret society somebody somewhere somehow set the stage seasons of shame shared some stripped off their souls some out of school surrounded by sadness sobbing society sick and tired of same set up singing the same song struggle songs state of shenanigans such sorry sight for(saken) sentenced swim in swamps sleep in stink wake up in stink same shatter same sessions same seminars same show stolen soldiers stars of our streets silhouettes of segregation soldiers’ sons of servants soldiers’ daughters of slaves seventy-six, sixth month solemn script several sent to the soil several sent to solitary confinement several sent to standstill several sent to statelessness several sent to swim in same state several sent to stomachs of sinners several sent to make sworn statements several never survived several stopped schooling several swallowed by the streets several seen and (un)seen never seen again some swallowed by the sharks some skinned alive some submitted to sex some statement of suspicion some sidelined some stepped aside some at the service of saturday sessions some servants of sunday estates some sworn to sangomas some special species stamping on stale blood some stay in shacks some in squalor some out of step some sobbing to this second some symbol of sorrow some step in some step out some scheming so sick and tired of shattered dreams sure as the sunsets somewhat surviving sure … so busy struggling to join the struggle same story second by second same side show several shot by system secured in suppression suspended soul of soweto standards so sickening signed off no solutions

1996 Postage Stamp - Africa Cup of Nation

Gogo Letoya and Mkhulu Blondie Makhene

MkhuluZanele Mashinini with healers from AmazonCarlos Hernandez and Frank Rocha and Mkhulu Andile Malotana

Art is Life

Lyrics and Poem - Dedicated to Minus Mashinini

Lyrics and poem: M?nus Mash?n?n? Isoja loMkhonto Vuka Mathambo - Thetha iSizwe Silalele Vuka Mkhonto - Thetha iSizwe Silalele M?nus Mash?n?n? Isoja loMkhonto WeSizwe Vuka Thongo Lomzabalazo - ISizwe Silalele Salute Commander! Salute Commander! Bayekele! Bayekele! Bayekele! Bayekele! Bayekele! Bayekele! Bayekele! Sobafaka Intjayelo Yabona LabaBantu Abaz' Umlandu WaleNgoma Umuthi uqala kuphi - Usukahpi Bayekhe Mash?n?n? Bazozwa Ngenyoni ZeZulu Salute Tambo Salute Salute Slovo Salute Salute Biko Salute Salute Tiro Salute Minus Monument The late Saul Sibusiso Mashinini, nom de guerre Minus, Malankana, MaQuestion, Khosing was born to Catherine Mapule Nomoya Mashinini nee Moloi and Johannes Delane Mashinini in 1960. He was the first born in a family of seven boys and one girl. He skipped the country in 1976, soon after turning sixteen, and joined the ANC in Swaziland. On the 8th August 1976, when this Soweto born activist left the country, he was a student at Phuti Senior Secondary School in Orlando West. At the time the apartheid security police had swopped on the entire June ’76 student leadership. Saul served as a member of the Soweto Student Representative Council (SSRC) and the South African Student Movement (SASM). He was also a main character in a play: 'Whose to be Blamed' directed by Seth Mazibuko, which was a smokescreen to mobilise students prior to the June 1976 upheavals. Minus was the member of uMkhonto Wesizwe June 16th Detachment. As Head of Department of Ordnance, he was tasked with infiltrating armoury in South Africa and was responsible for smuggling Katyusha rocket into the country, which was used by Barney Molokoane and his unit to blow Sasol in 1985. Initially based in Somalia, he was subsequently deployed in Angola, Mozambique and Swaziland. Minus received military training in Angola, Tanzania, Ukraine (Kiev) Odessa and the Germany Democratic Republic (GDR), among many countries. He served under the late Andrew Mlangeni and Job Tabane nom de guerre, Cassius Maake. Minus who spoke several foreign languages fluently was working for the Angolan Embassy in Lusaka at the time of his mysterious demise. In 1990 October 20th, his badly decomposed remains was discovered in a Zambian morgue by his fellow comrade and confidante, the late Nelson Dladla. To this day Minus' cause of death still remains mysterious. The family was initially informed that he died in a car crash. When his mortal remains arrived home - one eye was gouged and his private parts were missing. The virtuoso, musical maestro, Blondie Makhene has produced, a song aptly called: 'A Song for Minus' to commemorate his phenomenal contribution to the liberation of the country. The song features young kwaito artists Thabiso 'Mzorino' Mthunzi and Kgaphe 'Kenti' Makhene.

Minus Mashinini Isoja Lomkhonto

CD Compilation produced by Blondie Makhene featuring Kgape 'Kente' Makhene, Thabiso 'Mzorino' Mthunzi (Kwaito artist) and Zanele Mashinini. Words Blondie Makhene, Mzorino and Zanele Mashinini. cover Design Zanele Mashinini. Recorded at Inkosi YaManzi Studio. (South Africa - Gauteng Province Tladi Soweto)<

Blondie Makhene on his 63rd Birthday celebrate the late Minus Mashinini

Women's Month Anthem

Ma … Ma Greeting from the womb of Africa - Greetings from the cradle of humankind! Greeting from the land of y(our) forbears! Greetings from the soil that birthed minerals owned by others while her children fight over left overs! Greeting from Motherland! Greeting Healer amongst Healers from the land of plenty! Greetings from the source of human civilisation! Greetings from the womb that produced great Kings and Queens! Greetings Queen Mothers! Greeting Prophets! Greeting Living Ancestors! Greeting God of all Creations! Greeting to All your Ancestors known and unknown! Seen and unseen! Heard and unheard! Living and lifeless! Touched and untouchable! Reached and unreachable! Vocal and voiceless! Praised and unpraised! Soiled and unsoiled! Pardoned and unpardoned! Persecuted and unpersecuted Recognised and unrecognised! Claimed and unclaimed! Named and unnamed! Born and unborn! Forgotten and unforgotten! Spoken off and unspoken off! Buried and unburied! Chained and unchained! Enslaved and unslaved! Molested and unmolested! Accounted for and unaccounted for! Fetched unfetched! Understood misunderstood! Worshiped unworshipped! Mortalised and immortalised! Served and unserved! Delivered and undelivered! Valued and undervalued! Remembered and unremembered! Discovered and undiscovered! Buried and unburied! Initiated and uninitiated! Wounded and unwounded! Tortured and untortured! Welcomed and unwelcome! Bloodied and unbloodied! Detained and undetained! Paired and unpaired. Hailed and unhailed! Whipped and unwhipped! Shipped ahoy and unshipped ahoy! Soiled and unsoiled! Killed as kids! Tortured as teenagers, Artists and architects! Scientists and saints! Healers and health givers! Pioneers and Professors! Intellectuals and innovators! Deity and Dreamers! Mentioned and unmentionable! To one and all! If only your frame could talk Give hint that she vibrates Within the same frequencies As mine And that of the Gods Known and unknown Speak directly to me What would she input? Don’t mean your original you Your own identity For I have grown to know your voice This is not about the you in you Voice I am referring to is your DNA Chanting echoes heard and unheard Impressions of your genetic factor Accent from within without your open-air voice Anatomy where all of your own strength Flows and flow nonstop Universe touchable and untouchable Epitome of gracefulness University of Ubuntu cradle of everlasting love An orchestra that belts soundless Yet serenading sounds Today I am not about the energy That wrapped me around Celebrating my being Don’t need that species Heard enough from that fountain of love Life that brought me here Has been voice of reason for years Connect not with me in your person But, as speck of dense dust … that soulful source of life What will your frame say? Layer upon layers of flesh that forms you Effigy I had grown to know No … not your physical soul Can fully relate to that character All I want to eavesdrop is Spirit outside of your physical soul Bones those that pushed mountains To make this world a better place I shudder to think What would heartbeat of your pores Whisper to me What would your vibrating bloodstream say What will the relish sacred sanctuary Say to me I speak here of arteries of your heart The mother of all channels Unknown yet known foundation That forms a part of you Specimen that has never spoken to me But, has since I was born spoke a language Of love and offered lessons to be learned Want t speak to the essence of life Sculpture that forms you as an offspring What would your well of wisdom Share with me this time I mean your edifying outer skins mountain of your membrane Soft as your soothing smile And sweet as the sunrays Yet stern as your backbones Bones … bones of bones Built to hold the whole wide world I mean I want to converse with grain Which forms crust of mother earth The core of your existential Nerves that never complained Living tomb that honoured its commitment The genesis of your cavity That remained a noble nurturer Committed to its contract Support veneer that kept on moving Even when it’s the best and worst of times A catalyst that put me to sleep Strong human nature vessel That refused to cow and be conquered The very arable womb of the world Veins that coursed blood of royalty That watched over me around the clock Work itself to a point of weariness Every hour, second and minute Woke at night to hush … hush me Day in and day out Walk amid the storm of trepidation Work at home to keep the fire burning All seasons of the year Work for thankless employers Come rain or shine Walk on thorns and let her skin rip From dawn to dusk to see us through life Like Angels and Gods and Goddesses You Peel your gentle skin for my sake Pull your fragile body apart to satisfy daddy Put hours aside to put me to sleep Promise and keep to your promise Piece by piece tore yourself Planning a better tomorrow Pumping pushing itself to the extreme Never gave up Never gave in Noble nurture Surrender your life Soul with script of stories of pain Told and untold Bearing signatures of Pleasure seen and unseen How do I speak to the breasts? Suckled to a point of no return Yet giving and giving on my demand Because your beautiful figure Has been anything but a workhorse Light to those in search of illumination Happy Women’s Day everyday © 2018 Zanele Mashinini

Damned by Democracy

Mama Winnie Mandela

Mama Winnie

Bra Hugh

Mkhulu Hugh Masikela 'Heaven in You' Heroic Humble Humanitarian Horn' Highest Royalty King of King ... Timed In Out Timed ... 'Time!' Citizen of the continent Global Greatest Gift Born in South Africa Based in Africa Branches to Asia, Australia, America Europe and Everywhere Blowing blowing blowing 'Bring him Home!' Creating consciousness Advocating for equality Share stages with Superstars Rooted on the grassroot Laughing ... Leading ... Learning ... Here today There tomorrow Not here ... not there Kasie King 'Bayajabula!' Castle Crowned colourful character Diminutive in stature Yet daring the draconian system Torchbearer of a tormented And tortured people Leading light of liberation Prophetic Open book Power house Pulse of a People persecuted 'Ha lese le Do Khanna! Exiled Refused to be broken Excommunicated Refused to be beaten Evolved Refuse to back down Married to powerful instrument Like a freedom loving 'terrorist' Is to his Kalashnikov (AK47) weapon Vigilant and on guard awaiting For any eventualities Forever leading from the front Blowing Bombing Barrage of bloody beautiful Ballistic missile beats 'Abangoma' Healing holistically Hitting high notes Hated by apartheid masters Hailed by anti apartheid masses Unwavering ... Standing steadfast For causes of the disenfranchised Educating Through wise witty words Chastise abhorrent system of segregation Explaining Through music and melody plights of the landless Exposing Through no hold barrel beat apartheid brutalities Entertaining Through lethal lyrics and light verses Speaking to Human Rights violation in African And the world over 'Chilese' Enlightening Through performances and protestations Conscietising the dispossessed Engaging Showing middle finger to an oppressive systems Electrifying Agitating for apartheid to END Encyclopedia Rich in language of resistance Emperor of existentialism Echoes ... Footsteps of freedom fighter ... Endorsed Voices of the voiceless Fire ... Condemnation at Colonisation ... Fuel Vanguard of the vanquished ... Face Of Unsung heroes and heroines Cultural cadre Fountain of knowledge Action orientated activist Songs in the beat of life Tempo Call to action ... Struggle Scientist of Songs Sangoma Spirit Sage Smooth speaker Gifted God Sun of the Soil African ambassador Fathered Frequencies of freedom Touched Souls Send souls to trenches Kept hope of freedom alive Trumpeter from the trenches Refused to be silenced by tyrant Regime Radical Rational revolutionary Refused to dance to oppressors' tunes Tracks laced with consciousness Capture emotions Mood Massacres Mayhem Mineworker's Misery Stimela Star of the Ghetto ... Struggle signature songs ... Selfless servant Rebel with a cause ... Committed Commander Performer for Peoples' Power ... Time! Time ... Greatest God of Songs ... Living ... Likeable ... Larger than Life Legend ... Now within legion in the after life ... Sound the spirits Now within timelessness Reverberating rhythmical rendition Now living in the Ancestors' realm Debilitating delicious dance ... 'I wanna be there' 'Thuma mina' 'Send me' Lover of life Leading Liberator Loyal Leader Who never forsaken His post Until the last Martyr Straight talker Brought hope to the hopeless Nurturer of the nation Changing people's causes 'Bayajabula Bonke' Tasteful tunes Telling stories of oppression Ancient Academy Ubuntu University ... Letters of Local dialects 'Tananayi' Language ... Light ... Of resistance ... Beating Pumping ... Drumbeat ... Melody ... Memory ... Music Soothing Songs! Serenading Sound! Thundering Trumpet Sometimes Sweet Sometimes Shooting Sometimes Sour Sometimes Shouting Sometimes Sombre ... Nature's Number Boaboa tree Shadows of Spirits Unshakeable ... ... Unyielding Unapologetic ... Soldier who used his trumpet To spur the masses "Nansi indoda emnyama Verwoed!" A comrade who could blow A trumpet Sing and dance At the same time Time tested activist Who carried his horn With so much bravery And blow his horn like a guerilla Does when releasing Stalin Organ popularly known as a 'Grappe' By freedom fighters You overran an enemy stronghold Unrepentant you wailed Carrying hopes of the hopeless Children of the African Continent Children of the World Wallowing in abject poverty Power house Your Holistic horn will continue to vibrates Throughout the world From China to Cuba Soweto to Sweden Trinidad to Tanzania Haiti to Harlem ... Carrying hopes of the oppressed Like Shuku! Shuku! Train Sending ripple effect From the cavity of Mother earth Commanding Call to action Through medium of music ... 'I wanna be there' 'Thuma Mina' 'Send Me' Anything and everything You spoke through Enchanting trumpet 'Send me! Send me!' Softly evoking Spirits Serenading Like Ancient Ancestors' drums of Shamans Wooop .. Woooh Stimela Mine workers Highest God of Trumpet Consciousness Composer God on Earth God of Earth God in this Earth Living amongst us Within and without Your music mirror mass mobilisation You spoke truth to truth Humourist Humankind Maestro Musician Sharing Singer Bra Hugh Honest homestead Composer Great performance Great stage act Great show Greatest God of all Inspired by Bra Muziwakhe Nhlabatsi (Illustrator), Mkhulu Nume Mashinini (Academic) and Mkhulu Blondie Makhene (Musician)

Minus Mashinini Lecture

Ruse Minus was knocked down by a car near University of Zambia Ruse Minus was killed by unknown apartheid assassins Ruse Minus was slaughtered as a result of ritual murder Ruse Minus' private parts and left eye were harvested for muthi Ruse Minus was murdered because he knew a lot Ruse Minus was slayed because they wanted to know where the Death Letter Bomb (Armoury) were hidden. Ruse 27 years ago, in 1990 October 22, I received a cold call from Cde Audrey. At the time the ANC internal headquarters was located at Shell House, Plain Street Johannesburg. Cde Audrey was a family friend, and over years I had had worked with her. Cde Audrey was hysterical, in a breaking quivering voice she delivered a devastating news. "Minus passed on in a car accident in Lusaka!" The line went dead. It was as though the world has come to an end. I had spoken to Minus a few days ago. In his words he assured me he was not coming back home. Instead he said he was going to settle in Mozambique. Was this a premonition? Only Gods knows! The political climate in the country was exuberant. African majority were excited. Three hundred years of slavery was drawing to an end. Our streets were alive with toying toying children, youth and adults from morning to midnight.   Citizenry were for the first time proudly brandishing colours of their favourite outlawed political parties. No longer were majority afraid of the consequences of openly supporting liberation party of their choice. Prime Minister Willem De Klerk's own perestroika had set the tone for a political negotiation. Political prisoners from across the liberation divide from ANC, PAC, AZAPO, and AZANLA were set free. It were still early days, however in some ways, a trickle of some political exiles were already repatriated back home. The fanfare was spoiled by the continued extermination of indigenous people by those hell bent on keeping the status quo. As much as the internecine violence and third force were at play with Boipatong becoming a killing field we remained optimistic. KwaZulu Natal was also at a boiling point with Inkatha battling it out with the ANC. In the Reef, commuter train massacres were the order of the day. Kathorus in the East Rand experienced a low intense war. Hostel dwellers were attacking residence they lived side by side with for many years. Many families were displaced with many more people dying. The atmosphere of despair, death and destruction was way, way unpalatable. Amid all the sad macabre having a grip in the country, people from all walks of lives were in unison clamouring for peace. In the midst of hardened attitude from verkrampte, rays of hope was showing in the background. Funeral dirge were laden by compatriot's reunion celebrating thrown by families welcoming their loved ones. For the life of me, I can't recall my reaction after Cde Audrey had broken the gloom news.  The picturesque I had conjured up before the phone call were images of my family, friends and neighbours in jubilation.  Some crying, others overcome by joy reunited with an anti-apartheid cadre who left the country as a teen of fifteen to fight for freedom. It was going to be fifteen playing itself twice. Fifteen years at home, fifteen year out of home. During the period South Africa was crossing the Rubicon numberless of freedom fighter were dying mysteriously at a staggering rate inside and outside the country. In the same way the enemy was targeting the Eastern Front, the modus operandi continued unabated during our long march to a democratic dispensation. It was not easy in the Frontline States. Combatants there were living on borrowed time. Cross boarder raids were the name of the game. Operatives were ambushed and killed wilynilly. Minus once said to me: "in war they don't blow kisses, in war they blow killer kisses. Equally worrisome the Frontline were teeming with spies. It was easy for the Pretoria regime to plant at every given space individual who were collecting reconnaissance, as such it was not uncommon to die easy in places where assassination of guerillas were common place. So ... one of our own had died. The family reconciled with the inevitable. Minus Khosing as he was popular known in the underground was born Saul Sibusiso Mashinini. Sibusiso left the country on the 08 August 1976, with a group of other comrades from Phuti Junior Secondary School in Orlando West. He was the member of the South African Student Movement (SASM). Sibusiso had appeared in the morning edition of the Rand Daily Mail wearing a shirt emblazoned with the slogan: “We don’t want to learn English in Afrikaans! For many years, the rumour mill claimed Sibusiso had passed on. Then that was the story repeated over time to families of activists. Most families mourn and unmourned their children. It was that time. Most families walked wounded physical, emotionally and spiritually. At the same time countenancing with visitors in the wee hours of the night searching for their relatives who were anti-apartheid activists. In 1977 Minus went to Russia (Ukraine) Kiev and enrolled for military training. He was selected along with his other comrades after a military training stint in Mozambique and Angola. After completing his training in USSR he became an integral part of the June 16 Detachment working as an artilleryman. From thereafter, he worked between Somalia, Angola, Mozambique and Lusaka as Ordinance Department operative. He travelled wide and far smuggling armoury to the Front. As the HOD of the Ordinance Department he was deployed in Swaziland in the 80s with his late comrade Nelson Dladla, who also passed on mysteriously in KwaZulu Natal. It was Nelson Dladla who identified the badly decomposed body of Minus in a Morgue in Zambia after he went missing. It was in 1986, during the cause of discharging his underground misssion in Swaziland when Minus survived the assissin bullet. His was shoot at the back and the bullet was lodged in his left shoulder. His car he was travelling in with a young girl veered off and skidded down an embarkment landing on its tyres. Minus was able to sneak out and escape to safety. The Swazi police caught him and detained him at Matsapa Prison. He was then repatriated to Mozambique, where he was also detained at Machava Maximum Prison. After spending time there, he was deployed to Lusaka where he met his untimed death. Minus whose other nom guerre was MaQuestion, has had quiet a fulfilling life. However, his death like his other code name MaQuestion has left many more questions than answers. The TRC never called the family to testify after giving submission. Someone killed in a car accident to have his eye gouged out and private parts missing makes for an interesting observation. In Lusaka Minus worked for the Angolan Embassy as an interpreter, his grasp of languages was second to none. He spoke many languages fluently. Like many families who didn't stop asking for justice, it is our expressed desire that one day the truth will triumph. We quite aware that many of our country men and women passed without any closure. We of the idea that we need to heal as families and the nation. The Ahmed Timol case has once walk around for years without knowing the full truth. May the truth that is concealed in the vault of truthlessness be conquered by truth of truth. Time frozen is time questing for closure.