THE MAPUTO CONNECTION – The ANC in the World of Frelimo
by Nadja Manghezi
(Jacana, R180)
This book deals with the author’s memories of the struggle against apartheid.
Nadja Manghezi was born in Denmark but married a South African, Alpheus Manghezi, a student she met in Nigeria when teaching there.
While contributing to the struggle through the ANC, the couple supported the newly independent Mozambique. Other African countries are also in the picture as they move around the continent, as ANC members at that time tended to do.
This book takes us from the 1960s, with many African countries gaining their independence, right up to the 1990s and South Africa’s own liberation.
The author sees the link between our own Soweto riots and the victory for Frelimo in Mozambique.
However, throughout the book the Mozambique government’s betrayal of the ANC through the conclusion of the Nkomati Accord with the South African regime hangs as a shadow.
Also in the mix is the pre-independent Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), where the ANC launched the unsuccessful Wankie operation.
Following Zimbabwe’s independence, there is the Matola raid by South Africa the following year.
As you read the book, the names that jump out from the pages are ones that many of us have got to know post-1994 as ANC leaders.
While we argue about racism in South Africa, the author matter-of-factly states that racist elements within the Tanzania government deported white Frelimo supporters.
We are also told how South African youngsters made their way out of the country illegally. It is fascinating to read about their everyday problems and how they were solved.
The fifth chapter, which is titled The ANC Above Ground, is about the day-to-day activities of the ANC and its cadres before the Nkomati Accord.
Health, basic provisions, children and love show how ordinary people live ordinary lives in extraordinary times.
The book winds down as we achieve freedom in South Africa with the attack from within the country on Matola, the betrayal of the Nkomati Accord, and the death of Samora Machel under suspicious circumstances.
The author has a unique perspective. The story is honestly told and gives many new insights.
It is another building brick towards piecing our history together.