SACP is legally re-launched

On 29 July 1990 the South African Communist Party(SACP), which had been unbanned in February 1990, was formally re-launched as a legal organisation at a mass rally in Soweto which was attended by approximately 45 000 people. At the time the SACP faced allegations of conspiring with the African National Congress(ANC) military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe(MK) to use violence to overthrow the government if the negotiations, which were at an advanced stage, failed. During the rally, the SACP named a 22-member interim leadership.Amongst those named wereJoe Slovo, Ronnie Kasrils, the MK chief of staff Chris Hani, the SACP chairman Daniel Tloome, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)'s assistant general secretary Sydney Mufamadi, COSATU vice-president Chris Dhlamini and the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) Moses Mayekiso.The grouping of the membership confirmed the close co-operation between the SACP, ANC and COSATU. In celebration of the anniversary of the re-launching of the SACP, visit the feature here. References: South African Communist Party, ‘The History of the SACP 1912-1990’[online] Available at www.sacp.org.za[Accessed: 17 June 2011] Congress of South African Trade Unions,(2008), ‘Billy Nair, 1929-2008’[online] Available at www.cosatu.org.za[Accessed: 17 June 2011] South African History Online, ‘South African Communist Party (SACP)’ [online] Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 20 July 2011] Image Source:http://amadlandawonye.wikispaces.com/SACP+Jhb+Central[Accessed: 17 June 2011]