A Circle of Impressions Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #209)

who acted as regents respectively for the sons. It was a great moment for me to see the descendants of Ngubengcuka putting their heads together to sort out family problems. From Mthatha Daliwonga and I drove to Qamata where we examined the proposed developments in the Transkei in the presence of George, A.P.Mda, Tsepo Letlaka and P. Breakfast. I approached the whole discussion not from the point of view of staging a show down or of fault finding, showing off, making propaganda or even debate, but with a view of persuading a man I knew was primarily ocncerned with the idea of an independent Transkei, and who was destined to play a leading role in the realisation of that ideal, and who would thereby help to set in motion similar forces elsewhere in the country. Up to 1940 we were bound together by a common family background, a common outlook and common aspirations. But that year we took opposite directions and I found myself on the Rand, the hub of the country's political life, coming into close contact with forces that aimed higher that the welfare of a particular region. From Fort Hare, Daliwonga went straight home and became seniour chief of Emigrant Tembuland, a position he had held for no less than 15 years when we met at Qamata in 1955. I realised at the outset that he would look at the problem mainly from the point of view of his own background and of his aspirations as chief. In the circumstances I thought it advisable not to introduce any isms or cliches in the discussion, but to rely purely on truth and common sense and the facts of history, stressing in particular the demands that have been consistently made by African leaders throughout the country, the Transkei included.