The demise and irrelevance of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC)

To have some measure of understanding of the Pan-africanist Congress (PAC) as a political party with no relevance in the 21st Century, it is vital to gain some insight into the pan-africanism ideology upon which its formation was inspired.

The ideology of Pan-Africanism predates the Pan African Congress of 1945 that was held in Manchester, England; it was this congress which was attended by African political luminaries and others scholars from the Diaspora, namely: Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe (1924 – 1978), Kwame Nkrumah (1909 – 1972), Jomo Kenyatta (1894 – 1978) and Patrice Lumumba (1925 – 1961) as well as the WEB Du Bois (1868 – 1963) and George Padmore (1902 – 1959), that the sowed the seed of pan-africanism across the continent and applied it to decolonise Africa.

At this time World War II had ended and Africans everywhere were demanding independence from colonial subjugation.

Henry Sylvester-Williams (1869 – 1911) from Trinidad said, “the time has come when the voice of Black men should be heard independently in their own affairs.” The ideology of pan-Africanism claimed “Africa for the Africans”, a phrase coined by Dr. Martin Robison Delany (1812 –1885) and popularised by Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832 –1912) who insisted that Africans should keep the black race pure. He was hostile to the idea of inter-racial marriages.

Pan Africanism promotes racial pride among black people and it was Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887 – 1940) who encouraged black people around the world to be proud of their race and to see beauty in their own kind. Critics charged that pan-africanism promoted black supremacy in disguise. But these were largely colonialists who were threatened by the ascendance of an ideology among Africans that sought to unsettle their authority.

Pan-Africanism was born on the premise that colonialism was directed at estranging Africans from their own cultures in order that they more effectively serve colonial interest.

While the ideology of the ANC centred largely on African Nationalism, it promoted multi-culturalism; and this was the source of contention between Africanist and those with temperate political views. The African Nationalism of the ANC had been representing the interests of the middle class elite instead of the working class; after all the ANC was founded on 8 January 1912 by a group of black middle class elite personalities, among them Sol Plaatjie, Pixley Ka Seme and Reverend Dube. By 1946, the ANC had become more representative of the interests of ordinary folks; but the tension within was festering.

The idea of collaborating with people of other races was seen by Africanists within the ANC as not the brightest of moves for Africans to assert themselves and advance the struggle for freedom. And this discontent heralded the birth of the new political party in 1959 – The PAC. These disgruntled pan-africanists became instrumental in the fight for the liberation of black people during the roaring 1960s; an era of loose morality – sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll; and the height of Defiance Campaigns and the civil right movement in the US.

Post 1994, the PAC of Robert Sobukwe began to die a slow and painful death. The PAC when the political landscape changed; its leadership continued to stubbornly cling on to archaic ideologies which had no relevance to the present demands of its mass supporters. Promoting a system that demanded equitable sharing of food, clothing, homes, education, healthcare, wealth, land, work, security of life and happiness was short-sighted and nonsensical. The leadership of the PAC was still inebriated by the pan-africanist euphoria of the 60s; accusing other leaders of being agents of neo-liberalism and neo-colonialism; when Nelson Mandela was promoting non-sexism and non-racialism.

The PAC continues to insist that the solution to our political and economic problems lies in the application of Pan-Africanism. The disgraced former President of the PAC, Motsoko Pheko in 1999 said, “The triumph of Pan-Africanism, the only way Africans can survive the foreign onslaught and live as a truly liberated people, will come out of the sweat and blood of the African people themselves.” None of us would disagree that Africans should solve their own problems; but we cannot in the same breath ignore the realities of our modern times; Africa is inextricably linked the rest of the world. Globalisation – the most dreaded word by pan-africanists is to be with us for some time to come.

The continuing in fighting in the PAC that among other things haemorrhaged the overwhelming support it basked under during the liberation struggle, should serve as lessons to be learnt by the arrogant leadership of the new ANC. As Bob Marley eloquently said, “…you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time…” The poor will awaken to the sobering realisation that what they were, were pawns in the unforgiving political games and the revolution will take shape at the ballot box.

President of the PAC, Letlapa Mphahlele and the leader of faction of disgruntled members, Thami Ka Plaatjie, are desecrating the legacy of Robert Sobukwe – the resolute and righteous approach to reality; and everything else that he stood for. I fail to believe that Sobukwe’s branch of pan-africanism would have remained rigid and fixed in the past; but rather dynamic and constantly changing with changing political and economic circumstances. Like the National Party, the PAC now belongs to the heap of history. A time for change and new ideology is now!