Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba OMSG was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress who became the first premier of the Eastern Cape.
21 Facts About Raymond Mhlaba
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Raymond Mhlaba started working at a laundry in Port Elizabeth after leaving school in 1942.
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Raymond Mhlaba met and married his first wife, Joyce Meke, who was from the Fort Beaufort area in 1943.
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In 1982, Raymond Mhlaba, who had been a political prisoner in Robben Island since 1964, was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison where he received special permission to marry his common-law wife Dideka Heliso in 1986, with whom he had three children Mpilo, Nomawethu and Nikiwe.
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Raymond Mhlaba started working at a laundry in Port Elizabeth after leaving school in 1942.
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From 1944 Raymond Mhlaba maintained dual membership of the ANC and the SACP.
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Raymond Mhlaba rose through the ANC ranks becoming the chairman of the Port Elizabeth branch of the ANC from 1947 to 1953, and then elected to the Cape Executive committee.
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Raymond Mhlaba was the first to be arrested for disobeying apartheid laws during the nationwide Defiance Campaign of 1952 together with Govan Mbeki and Vuyisile Mini for three months in Rooi Hel.
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The campaign was launched in Port Elizabeth when Raymond Mhlaba led a group of volunteers singing freedom songs through the "Whites Only" entrance of the New Brighton Railway Station.
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In 1962, Raymond Mhlaba returned to South Africa, becoming a commander of the MK after Nelson Mandela's arrest.
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Raymond Mhlaba was one of its first recruits and was sent to China for military training.
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Raymond Mhlaba spent a lot of time urging fellow prisoners to forget their differences and unite so that conditions for prisoners could improve.
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Raymond Mhlaba became national chairperson of the SACP in 1995.
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Raymond Mhlaba helped to establish the house of traditional leaders.
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Raymond Mhlaba then became the High Commissioner to Uganda and Rwanda, until he retired in 2001.
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Raymond Mhlaba was chairperson of a black economic empowerment consortium involved in the Coega port project, but suffered a stroke on 19 July 2003, recovering quickly.
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In 2004, Raymond Mhlaba was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer, and in December doctors discharged him from a private clinic saying there was nothing they could do for him.
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Raymond Mhlaba was granted state funeral on 27 February 2005.
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Raymond Mhlaba is survived by his three sons and five daughters, his wife Dideka Raymond Mhlaba having died on 18 January 2010.
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Raymond Mhlaba is seen as a stalwart member of both the ANC and the SACP.
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Raymond Mhlaba was recognised with the Isitwalandwe Medal in 1992 for his role in the liberation struggle, and the Moses Kotane Award in 2002 for his contribution to the SACP.