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Walter and Albertina Sisulu : In Our Lifetime
Walter Sisulu and Albertina Thethiwe were born in small rural villages just a few miles apart in the Eastern Cape hinterland. From these humble beginnings, they would become two of South Africa's most respected and beloved figures, among its greatest crusaders for human rights and dignity. For over five decades, the pair - married in 1944 - were at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid and the injustices it wrought on black South Africans. As Secretary-General of the African National Congress, Walter was sentenced with Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment, and spent 26 years behind bars. While her husband was in jail, Albertina continued to play a crucial role in keeping the ANC alive underground. But she and Walter were destined not only for suffering, triumph and greatness; they were destined for each other. Their story is a moving love story against all odds and this joint biography charts their life the challenges and hardships they faced, the good times they shared and the massive changes to South African society they helped to bring about.
656 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Elinor Sisulu
7 books12 followersElinor Sisulu is a writer, human rights activist and political analyst.
She combines training in history, English literature, development studies and feminist theory. She completed her first two degrees at the University of Zimbabwe and studied at the United Nations Institute for Economic Planning and Development (IDEP) in Dakar, Senegal. From 1984-85 she studied for a MA in Development Studies at the Institute of Social Studies at the Hague. During her stint in Holland she met her future husband, ANC activist Max Sisulu, who is the current Speaker of Parliament in South Africa.
Elinor is a member of the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) board, the National Arts Festival board, the Independent Media Trust of Zimbabwe, and the Anthony Sampson board. She is also a trustee of the Heal Zimbabwe Trust, a South African-based trust that facilitates humanitarian assistance for Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa.
She combines training in history, English literature, development studies and feminist theory. She completed her first two degrees at the University of Zimbabwe and studied at the United Nations Institute for Economic Planning and Development (IDEP) in Dakar, Senegal. From 1984-85 she studied for a MA in Development Studies at the Institute of Social Studies at the Hague. During her stint in Holland she met her future husband, ANC activist Max Sisulu, who is the current Speaker of Parliament in South Africa.
Elinor is a member of the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) board, the National Arts Festival board, the Independent Media Trust of Zimbabwe, and the Anthony Sampson board. She is also a trustee of the Heal Zimbabwe Trust, a South African-based trust that facilitates humanitarian assistance for Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 14, 2015
One of the things that I like about biographies of political figures is that you get a more personal view of the times they lived in. Here one gets two for the price of one -- Walter and Albertina Sisulu were a married couple forced to live much of their life apart, and for several decades it was rare that there would be a time when there wasn't at least one member of the Sisulu family in jail or banned.
Walter Sisulu was Secretary Gerneral of the African National Congress (ANC) at the time it was banned in 1960, and resumed his organising activities when he emerged from prison and it was unbanned 30 years later. Albertina was a leader of the ANC Women's League, and was in jail, detained without trial, and banned for many years.
They belonged to my parents' generation, but the second half of their life story was about times that I myself have lived through, and so casts new light on those times for me. It was written by their daughter-in-law, Elinor Sisulu, who knew them personally, and so they come alive in a way that is not possible in biographies written by impersonal outsiders. And perhaps because Walter was a political prisoner, the securocrats kept much of his correspondence from jail, and so, even though what he wrote was censored, there is something very warm and human that comes across in his letters to family and friends.
On reading the story of the Sisulus, I am acutely aware of how the leadership of the ANC, and of the country, has deteriorated since then. We will not see the likes of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu again, more's the pity. The time that Albertina Sisulu was a Member of Parliament, from 1994-1999, was a high point in our country's history, though we did not realise it at the time. It is sad to see how much things have declined.
But the Sisulus would be the last to claim the credit for that. They believed in party discipline, and collective leadership. They believed that leaders must be responsible to the community, and this comes out in the sharp contrast between the disciplined and humble Albertina Sisulu and the publicity-seeking loose cannon Winnie Mandela. There were events involving Winnie Mandela that received a great deal of publicity at the time, such as her notorious football club. One did not know what to believe in the media reports, so I held my own counsel at the time, because judgements based on incomplete reports are usually wrong. Albertina Sisulu held her own counsel too, but now the story can be told.
One of the things that struck me was that in a sense people like Nelson Mandela, the Sisulus and the Tambos were larger than life, and this seemed to contrast with the idea of collective leadership and being responsible to the community, in fact collective leadership works best with people who stand out from the crowd, yet see themselves as part of it.
One small point that shows how far the ANC has fallen is that when Walter Sisulu was invited to visit the People's Republic of China, and the latter asked him not to visit Taiwan, he refused, saying that he went where he was sent by the ANC, and not by the hosts of one of the places he was visiting. The contrast between that and the present ANC givernment's refusal to give visas to the Dalai Lama could not be more stark.
In some ways the book is also a family history, and here there is a shortcoming. There are pedigree charts showing the ancestry of Walter and Albertina Sisulu (though not of Walter's father, who played little part in his life), but there is no chart of their descendants, and as they had numerous grandchildren a family tree chart (or even several) showing them and their relationships would also have been useful.
It is also a love story. One of the lasting effects of apartheid was to destroy family life, especially for black people. But in spite of having to live almost half of their married life apart, Walter and Albertina Sisulu were an outstanding example of family life, and life as a married couple.
It is, however, a readable and well-researched book, and for anyone interested in South African history from 1940-2000, it's a must read.
Walter Sisulu was Secretary Gerneral of the African National Congress (ANC) at the time it was banned in 1960, and resumed his organising activities when he emerged from prison and it was unbanned 30 years later. Albertina was a leader of the ANC Women's League, and was in jail, detained without trial, and banned for many years.
They belonged to my parents' generation, but the second half of their life story was about times that I myself have lived through, and so casts new light on those times for me. It was written by their daughter-in-law, Elinor Sisulu, who knew them personally, and so they come alive in a way that is not possible in biographies written by impersonal outsiders. And perhaps because Walter was a political prisoner, the securocrats kept much of his correspondence from jail, and so, even though what he wrote was censored, there is something very warm and human that comes across in his letters to family and friends.
On reading the story of the Sisulus, I am acutely aware of how the leadership of the ANC, and of the country, has deteriorated since then. We will not see the likes of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu again, more's the pity. The time that Albertina Sisulu was a Member of Parliament, from 1994-1999, was a high point in our country's history, though we did not realise it at the time. It is sad to see how much things have declined.
But the Sisulus would be the last to claim the credit for that. They believed in party discipline, and collective leadership. They believed that leaders must be responsible to the community, and this comes out in the sharp contrast between the disciplined and humble Albertina Sisulu and the publicity-seeking loose cannon Winnie Mandela. There were events involving Winnie Mandela that received a great deal of publicity at the time, such as her notorious football club. One did not know what to believe in the media reports, so I held my own counsel at the time, because judgements based on incomplete reports are usually wrong. Albertina Sisulu held her own counsel too, but now the story can be told.
One of the things that struck me was that in a sense people like Nelson Mandela, the Sisulus and the Tambos were larger than life, and this seemed to contrast with the idea of collective leadership and being responsible to the community, in fact collective leadership works best with people who stand out from the crowd, yet see themselves as part of it.
One small point that shows how far the ANC has fallen is that when Walter Sisulu was invited to visit the People's Republic of China, and the latter asked him not to visit Taiwan, he refused, saying that he went where he was sent by the ANC, and not by the hosts of one of the places he was visiting. The contrast between that and the present ANC givernment's refusal to give visas to the Dalai Lama could not be more stark.
In some ways the book is also a family history, and here there is a shortcoming. There are pedigree charts showing the ancestry of Walter and Albertina Sisulu (though not of Walter's father, who played little part in his life), but there is no chart of their descendants, and as they had numerous grandchildren a family tree chart (or even several) showing them and their relationships would also have been useful.
It is also a love story. One of the lasting effects of apartheid was to destroy family life, especially for black people. But in spite of having to live almost half of their married life apart, Walter and Albertina Sisulu were an outstanding example of family life, and life as a married couple.
It is, however, a readable and well-researched book, and for anyone interested in South African history from 1940-2000, it's a must read.
June 18, 2019
The book highlights was quite enlightening and was particularly useful as a compliment of "Long walk to freedom" by Nelson Mandela in terms of describing prison life for political detainees under apartheid. The format of the book which infuses letters written by Walter Sisulu to his wife and others during his time in prison does a great job at humanising a revered freedom fighter. Overall the book was well written though one of its biggest let downs is that it paints both Walter and Albertina Sisulu as saints and does not contain a single chapter where their foibles are exposed within the struggle or within their own domestic affairs. The book is also a great compliment for those generally interested in the history of the ANC, particularly the ANC internal in South Africa during a phase when most of the key leaders such as OR Tambo were in exile
July 29, 2018
A wealth of information on the lives of two people who dedicated their the greater part of their adult lives, in spite of being incarcerated, restricted and, harassed and separated, to the establishment of a new South Africa.
August 11, 2023
An extremely well-researched and written biography of two inspirational figures of South Africa's apartheid struggle. Not only is this a look into their lives, but a look at South Africa's history and psyche
March 4, 2019
This certainly ranks as one of the finest reads on the power of love over adversity.
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December 16, 2023Best book I've ever read
The beginning of politics much respect to Mama Albertina Sisulu
The beginning of politics much respect to Mama Albertina Sisulu
June 24, 2016
This is a beautiful love story.
This is a beautiful recollection of South African history.
This is a lovely autobiography.
This is a beautiful recollection of South African history.
This is a lovely autobiography.
April 16, 2020
Humility and selflessness perfectly exemplified.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews