Patrick Chamusso

Last updated
Patrick Chamusso
Born1949 (age 70–71)
Mozambique
Political party African National Congress

Patrick Chamusso (born in 1949 in Mozambique) is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) party of South Africa who participated in the militant actions of the organization during the apartheid era.

One of three sons, Patrick came to live in South Africa when as a teenager he followed his migrant worker father to work in the mines of South Africa performing odd jobs. After his father's death, Chamusso's mother remarried and bore another daughter. He worked in various jobs on the mines and later found work as a house painter and street photographer. [1]

When he was 28, he got a job at the Sasol synthetic fuel plant at Secunda (Secunda CTL), the largest coal liquefaction plant in the world, located several hours east of Johannesburg. Although not formally educated, he advanced quickly and ended up as a driver, a position that was well-paid. His main job was to fetch coal from a neighboring mine and bring it into the refinery. A talented soccer player who had formerly played for local leagues, his abilities later made him popular among his co-workers and in the community. [1]

Chamusso was arrested in 1980 by South African Special Branch for conspiring with the ANC to bomb the Secunda refinery, a crime he insisted he did not commit. He was later released without charges being laid. He reported that he had been tortured whilst a prisoner. He fled to Mozambique where he joined Umkhonto we Sizwe, the militant arm of the ANC. [2]

After military training, he returned to South Africa where he single-handedly carried out a second, partly successful, bombing at Secunda, which—as was intended—resulted in no casualties. After a massive manhunt, he was arrested and ultimately sentenced to 24 years in prison on Robben Island. In 1994, as the apartheid system began to be dismantled, having served 10 years, Chamusso was released under the new government's amnesty policy. [3]

After his release, Chamusso married a woman named Conney, and the couple had three children, in addition to fostering 80 AIDS orphans at their home in Mpumalanga. [3]

Chamusso rose to world prominence in October 2006, when Catch a Fire , a biographical film depicting his struggle against the system of Apartheid in South Africa, was released.

Related Research Articles

South African Communist Party Political party in South Africa, allied with the ANC

The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921, was declared illegal in 1950 by the governing National Party, and participated in the struggle to end the apartheid system. It is a partner of the Tripartite Alliance with the African National Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and through this it influences the South African government.

Walter Sisulu South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress

Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the (ANC), African National Congress serving at times as Secretary-General and Deputy President of the organization. He was incarcerated at Robben Island, where he served more than 25 years' imprisonment.

Defiance Campaign

The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, taking place in 1952 were the first "large-scale, multi-racial political mobilization against apartheid laws under a common leadership."

Joe Slovo South African politician

Joe Slovo was a South African politician, and an opponent of the apartheid system. A Marxist-Leninist, he was a long-time leader and theorist in the South African Communist Party (SACP), a leading member of the African National Congress (ANC), and a commander of the ANC's military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

Ruth First South African journalist, scholar and anti-apartheid activist

Ruth First was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was killed by a parcel bomb addressed specifically to her in Mozambique, where she worked in exile from South Africa.

Secunda, Mpumalanga Place in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Secunda is a town built amidst the coalfields of the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It was named for being the second Sasol extraction refinery producing oil from coal, after Sasolburg, some 140 kilometres (87 mi) to the west.

Sasolburg Place in Free State, South Africa

Sasolburg is a large industrial city within the Metsimaholo Local Municipality in the far north of the Free State province of South Africa. Sasolburg is further sub-divided into three areas: Sasolburg proper, Vaalpark and Zamdela.

Sasol company

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early 1900s. Today, Sasol develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.

The following lists events that happened during 1986 in South Africa.

Craig Williamson South African police officer

Craig Michael Williamson, is a former South African Police major, who was exposed as a spy in 1980, and was involved in a series of state-sponsored overseas bombings, burglaries, kidnappings, assassinations and propaganda during the apartheid era.

Joe Modise South African politician

Johannes "Joe" Modise was a South African political figure. He helped to found Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress, and was its longest serving Commander in Chief, deputised at different points in time by Joe Slovo and Chris Hani. Modise headed MK for a 25-year period, from 1965 to 1990. He served as South Africa's first black Minister of Defence from 1994 to 1999 and led the formation of the post-independence defence force.

Albie Sachs South African anti-Apartheid activist leader, author and judge of the Constitutional Court

Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs is an activist and a former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. After having his arm blown off by a car-bomb in Mozambique due to his opposition to apartheid, he fled to the United States but later returned to South Africa and currently resides in Cape Town.

Charles Nqakula is a South African politician who served as Minister of Defence from September 2008 to 2009. He also served as Minister for Safety and Security from May 2002 to September 2008.

Secunda CTL synthetic fuel plant in South Africa

Secunda CTL is a synthetic fuel plant owned by Sasol at Secunda, Mpumalanga in South Africa. It uses coal liquefaction to produce petroleum-like synthetic crude oil from coal. The process used by Sasol is based on the Fischer–Tropsch process. It is the largest coal liquefaction plant in the world.

<i>Catch a Fire</i> (film) 2006 film by Phillip Noyce

Catch a Fire is a 2006 biographical thriller film about activists against apartheid in South Africa. The film was directed by Phillip Noyce, from a screenplay written by Shawn Slovo. Slovo's father, Joe Slovo, and mother Ruth First, leaders of the South African Communist Party and activists in the Anti-Apartheid Movement, appear as characters in the film, while her sister, Robyn Slovo, is one of the film's producers and also plays their mother Ruth First. Catch a Fire was shot on location in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique.

Jeff Radebe South African politician

Jeffrey Thamsanqa "Jeff" Radebe is a South African politician was appointed as Minister of Energy by Cyril Ramaphosa on 26 February 2018. He served in the government of South Africa as Minister in the Presidency from 2014 to 2018. Previously he was Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development from 2009 to 2014. Radebe is South Africa's longest continuously serving cabinet member, having been part of every national administration since 1994 and under every post-apartheid President.

Internal resistance to apartheid

Internal resistance to apartheid in South Africa originated from several independent sectors of South African society and took forms ranging from social movements and passive resistance to guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid, which began formally in 1990 and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in 1994..

The African National Congress (ANC) is the current governing party of the Republic of South Africa. The ANC was founded in 1912 in Bloemfontein and is the oldest liberation movement in Africa.

Tim Jenkin South African writer and activist, known for 1979 prison escape from Pretoria Prison

Timothy Peter Jenkin is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison, along with Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris.

Marikana massacre wildcat strike at a mine owned by Lonmin in South Africa

The Marikana massacre, which took place on 16 August 2012, was the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since 1976. The shootings have been described as a massacre in the South African media and have been compared to the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. The incident took place on the 25-year anniversary of a nationwide South African miners' strike.

References

  1. 1 2 Patrick's Story Archived 2007-03-15 at the Wayback Machine from Two Sisters
  2. ↑ Apartheid's Song Archived 2007-02-16 at the Wayback Machine from LA Weekly
  3. 1 2 Patrick Chamusso Biography from Working Title Films
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.