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Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)

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Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960

For many years there was tension within the African National Congress (ANC) between those with different ideological and theoretical views. One of these views was towards a more more Africanist approach.

Africanist - An ideology that says that black people should determine their own future - Africa for the Africans. It was first expressed by a Xhosa missionary, Tiyo Siga, in the 19th century.

During the 1950's, the apartheid government was continually introducing new means to suppress the liberation struggle. Many members of the African National Congress (ANC) had become impatient with the inability of peaceful protest to achieve results. In November 1958, at the Transvaal provincial congress, some of the more 'Africanist' members of the ANC were excluded from the hall. Rather than cause a confrontation, they decided to break away, and on 6 April 1959 the PAC was formed. They elected Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe as their first president and Potlako Leballo as secretary and decided to follow the route of the ANC's Programme of Action and Defiance Campaign (committed to open defiance of the laws of the land). The reasons cited by many sources for this split are that the PAC promulgated policies that were contrary to the 'multi-racial' policies of the ANC (at the time the ANC was made up of different race groups) and that members were frustrated by the policies of the ANC, expressed in the Freedom Charter in 1955.

Robert Sobukwe's leadership of the PAC was based on a vision of an 'Africa for Africans' movement, which promoted mass action against discrimination. It is inaccurate to say however that Sobukwe's Africanism was 'racial' or in direct opposition to the ANC's 'multi-racial policies'. Sobukwe, believed that instead of adopting a policy of 'multi-racialism', or a party made up of different groups, those wanting to join the PAC should do so on an individual or 'non-racial' basis in united support for an African movement. 

This standpoint is supported by an extract from Sobukwe's inaugural speech which was given when the PAC was formed in 1959, and advocated 'non-racialism':

"...Further, multi-racialism is in fact a pandering to European bigotry and arrogance. It is a method of safeguarding white interests, implying as it does, proportional representation irrespective of population figures. In that sense it is a complete negation of democracy.

To us the term "multi-racialism" implies that there are such basic insuperable differences between the various national groups here that the best course is to keep them permanently distinctive in a kind of democratic apartheid. That to us is racialism multiplied, which probably is what the term truly connotes.  We aim, politically, at government of the Africans by the Africans, for the Africans, with everybody who owes his only loyalty to Afrika and who is prepared to accept the democratic rule of an African majority being regarded as an African.

We guarantee no minority rights, because we think in terms of individuals, not groups".

The PAC became a rival of the ANC in terms of support, and this lead to strong competition. Therefore, when the ANC announced that they were planning an anti-pass campaign on the 31 March 1960, the PAC decided to spearhead their efforts by planning a similar protest for the 21 March.

The anti-pass campaign turned out to be very important for the PAC, and for South African politics in general. The date for the campaign was finalised on 18 March, and set for 21 March 1960. The weekend was spent handing out pamphlets about the campaign and appealing to supporters to voluntarily leave their passes at home and offer themselves up for arrest at the nearest police station on 21 March. Protests took place in Sharpeville and in the Western Cape in townships such as Langa.

The protest was of a non-violent nature, but turned violent in Sharpeville where police opened fire on a crowd of protestors, killing 69 and injuring 180. In Langa, near Cape Town, the police also opened fire and killed two people. PAC member Philip Kgosana led a protest march in Cape Town two days later.

The Sharpeville Incident resulted in international criticism and concern and increased suppression from the National Party (NP) government. The negative thing for the PAC was that Sobukwe had also taken part in the campaign, together with other leaders of the PAC, and they were all placed under arrest. Many other leaders were arrested in the aftermath of the incident; they were detained for 2-3 years. Sobukwe was not released until 1969. A state of emergency was declared on 30 March after other marches took place in Cape Town and Durban. As a result of the Sharpeville Incident both the PAC and ANC were banned on 8 April 1960, a year after PAC was formed.

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