Tribute | Denis Goldberg's fight may be over, but we must pick up the spear, writes Lawson Naidoo. Hamba kahle, isitwalandwa seaparankoe!
It was one of my earliest visits to the ANC office in Penton Street, London, in 1985. I was in the process of being vetted for recruitment into the ANC while completing my Bar exams. On that occasion, I spent a few hours in conversation with Denis Goldberg and MD Naidoo – I was overawed by the presence of such heavyweights, despite being grilled by them on my understanding of the struggle, as well as my family background.
He was creative in broadening the range of ANC merchandise from T-shirts, caps and scarves to golf shirts, hoodies, jackets, socks and even takkies. He recognised that this presented an opportunity to market items not just to committed anti-apartheid activists, but also to young people as a means of engaging them, conscientising them and spreading the image of the ANC. The Champion of Freedom label, featuring images of Nelson Mandela as a boxer, was born.
I got a lift with him that evening to a reception in honour of Mandela hosted by Sonny Ramphal, Commonwealth secretary-general. I was invited in my capacity as secretary of the regional political committee of the ANC in the UK. This would be the first time Denis would be seeing Madiba since the Rivonia Trial.
Denis eschewed the use of the term “comrade” during the Zuma years, saying he no longer knew who those people were and therefore couldn’t address them in such a fraternal way. He was pained by what had become of the movement to which he’d dedicated his life, but retained a fundamental belief that it could be saved.
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