Spear of the Nation: Umkhonto weSizwe: South Africa’s Liberation Army, 1960s–1990s

by Janet Cherry

Umkhonto we Sizwe, Spear of the Nation, was arguably the last of the great liberation armies of the twentieth century—but it never got to “march triumphant into Pretoria.” MK—as it was known—was the armed wing of the African National Congress, South Africa’s liberation movement, that challenged the South African apartheid government. A small group of revolutionaries committed to the seizure of power, MK discovered its principal members engaged in negotiated settlement with the enemy and was disbanded soon after.

The history of MK is one of paradox and contradiction, of successes and failures. In this short study, which draws widely on the personal experiences of—and commentary by—MK soldiers, Janet Cherry offers a new and nuanced account of the Spear of the Nation. She presents in broad outline the various stages of MK’s thirty-year history, considers the difficult strategic and moral problems the revolutionary army faced, and argues that its operations are likely to be remembered as a just war conducted with considerable restraint.

Genres: South Africa, History, Africa, Nonfiction

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Brian Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short book that gives a good overview of the history of the uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress in the anti-apartheid struggle of South Africa. While its length means that only the bare bones of the history is conveyed, it still is very thought provoking about some features of the organization. One of example is that the author points out that while the MK as an armed group was in most ways ineffective from a military standpoint,in the struggle it still inspired the movement and the armed struggle of the township uprisings of the 1980s. The “military” goals were in some way secondary to the political goals which per the author was one of the unique features of the MK. If you know little about the MK and want a crash course of a history that you can read in an afternoon this is a good start.