The Defiance Campaign Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #117)

fired the opening shots. The first people to defy their bans and to be jailed on vrious dates immediately before the commencement of the campaign on June 26th were Moses Kotane, Yusuf Dadoo, J.B. Marks, David Bopape and Ismail Bhoola, all of whom were well known Congress leaders. The latter was a youth leader. They had been ordered under the provisions of the Suppression of Comminism Act to resign from specified organisations and also prohibited from attending meetings. They defied by addressing meetings in response to the instructions of the Congresses and were the forerunners of the army of 8,500 volunteers who stormed the institutions of apartheid during the defiance campaign. Again on June 26th the leaders were on the forefront sharing hardships of prison life with their comrades. The first Transvaal batch was led by the secretary general of the ANC, Walter Sisulu, and Nana Sita, the president of the Transvaal Indian Congress. Flag Boshielo, chairman of the cental branch of the ANC, led the second. In Port Elizabeth the honour of being bellwether went to Raymond Mhlaaba, chairman of the New Brighton branch. Natal started a few weeks later and their first batch was led by Drs. G.M. Naicker and Wilson Conco, president of the NIC and vice president of the Natal ANC respectively. As the campaign progressed even more leaders went to prison for acts of defiance. Men and women drawn from every level of the leadership of the organisations took their place in the battle lines. Among them were Amina Asvat, Mariam Cachalia, Ashwin Choudree, Percy Cohen, Barney Desai, Patrick Duncan, Manilal Gandhi, Alcot Gwentshe, Dr. Arthur Letele, Uriah Maleka, Caleb Mayekiso, John Mngoma, Ida Mntwana, Peter Molotsi, Doreen Motshabi, M.P. Naicker, Henri Naude, Lillian Ngoyi, Constance Njongwe, John Nkadimeng, Amina Pahad, Peter Raboroko,