Today marks 62 years since the formation of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1959. The PAC was formed at Orlando Community Hall in Soweto.
An ardent Africanist Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe became its founding president, while Potlako Leballo became its secretary general.
The PAC was born following a dispute over the Freedom Charter. When the Charter was adopted in Kilptown in 1955, those who advocated for Pan-Africanism felt it was a betrayal of the struggle. The deepening of political differences broke out into the open in 1958 at the Transvaal provincial congress of the African National Congress (ANC).
Africanist members were excluded from the congress and they resolved to break away and formed the PAC. The party soon made history in South Africa when it organised the 1960 march against the imposition of the pass laws by the apartheid government.
Despite its early political gains, however, the party has been plagued by internal fighting and an unresolved leadership crisis. In 2019, the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC) could not register the PAC for the general elections as the party could not determine the legitimate group and rightful leader. The electoral body had to await a court outcome to resolve a pending litigation before the PAC could be registered.
Several activities are planned across the country to celebrate the party’s formation, a move its former secretary general, Ngila Muendane, says was a game changer.
Pan Africanist Congress of Azania turns 62:
