About James Sofasonke Mpanza

James Sofasonke Mpanza was born in Diepdale in the province of Natal on the 15 of May 1889 he moved to Johannesburg having served 13 years in prison for murder he had committed in his early twenties, in 1927 he was pardoned by the king of England who had visited our shores at that time, it is rumoured that the Indian merchant he killed abused African women in Natal, others have a different story to tell about his case. In prison he converted to Christianity and preached the gospel to his fellow prisoners.

His charisma propelled him to create waves in his community after his release. His other major Christian stamp was the book, the battles of the Christians Pathway which he authored while in prison. After his release from prison in 1927, he taught in Pretoria and later moved to Johannesburg, at the time black people from all over southern Africa were drifting en masse to Johannesburg to provide labour to the mines and other emerging industries, the demand for housing grew very acute, as the government and the mining authorities failed to make enough provision for black peoples housing, this was partly a result of the urban areas act, of 1923.

Accommodation was not adequate for the swelling numbers of incoming people, and there was virtually no sanitation. In Orlando , Mpanza became a member of the local advisory board, where he wrote numerous letters to the minister of native affairs about the conditions of housing in Orlando, to no avail. In 1944, Mpanza led a crowd of homeless people to invade the land and erect a squatter camp near Orlando, using any materials they could find.

The settlement was Masakeni, after the Hessian Sacks that covered the rudimentary shacks . His fearless commitment was immortalised in the nickname which arose out of the circumstances: “Sofasonke”, meaning “we will all die together”. After several attempts to remove the squatters , two people were killed in confrontations with the police. The court subsequently ordered that accommodation be provided for the homeless people.

In November 1944, a new legislation preventing squatting was passed , but in 1945 the government provided a new site in Jabavu to accommodate the homeless. With his grassroots following, the Sofasonke movement, James Mpanza exerted much pressure on the authorities to provide housing to the working classes in Johannesburg. Together with African National Congress Youth League members such as Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela and Anton Lembede, they developed ingenious strategies to force the city council to take responsibility for providing additional housing.

Among these strategies were threats to evict backyard tenants in Orlando, which prompted mass action, in turn forcing the City Council to take action. Mpanza inspired many people living in informal settlements in various areas of the Witwatersrand, in some instances arousing the solidarity of white squatters. In 1946, the government deported Mpanza to Natal but he remained in Orlando after winning his case on appeal.

He continued to serve on the Orlando Advisory Board, and was one of the people who supported the creation of the Soweto Urban Bantu Council in the early 1960’s. he died in 1970, but his movement lived on for a significant number of years after his death . Through his continuous agitation, Mpanza confronted the callousness with which the city and government authorities treated the needs of black people for proper housing and sanitation.

Mpanza remains the only man nicknamed the father of Soweto, because of his gallant fight against the oppressive system. It was through him that Oppenheimer later loaned the city of Johannesburg R6,000,000,00 to build 57,000 houses in what is called modern Soweto, Masekeni became a spring board of townships like Jabavu, Whitecity, Moroka, Naledi, Zola and others.
He led his people from number 1 shelters after having left his house in Orlando East at number 957 Phiela street to be with his people, Masakeni became a city within a city with blacks administering themselves in terms of trade and local policing by Mpanza’s men, this settlement became an envy to the local municipality particularly to one Mr Edwin Carr, who was the none European administrative department manager in the City of Johannesburg.

Dr A.B Xuma donated funds to help Mpanza in his noble cause of fighting for the poor, hence Walter Sisulu referred to Mpanza as both shrewd and dynamic in his fight for proper housing and sanitation in the urban settlements of johannesburg . The Sofasonke movement of James Mpanza became an academy of learning to many luminaries such as Mr Richard Maponya, a famous Soweto businessman, Mr E.T Tshabalala of Eyethu Fame, Mr David Thebehali a renowned pastor in the Faithways ministries.

Mpanza not only fought for better housing and sanitation, but also was a dynamic and first black horse racer and greyhound racer ever in the entire republic, his business prowess was felt by many who emulated him in later years. His contribution to the peoples team Orlando Pirates remains unchallenged, the nickname Ez’ka Magebhula refers to him since he grabbed municipal land for the urban black people. The people of Soweto and South Africa refers to Pirates as “E’zimnyama ngenkani E’zka Magebhula” meaning Mpanza’s team.

He was honored by the mayor of the City of Johannesburg His Excellency Clr. Amos Masondo during Soweto’s centennial celebrations in 2004 together with Richard Maponya and the late Dr. Nthato Motlana.

The country recently through its executive President the honorable Mr JG Zuma, bestowed on him the Order of Luthuli in Gold at the Union buildings on the 11 December 2009, past recipients of the Order in Gold are Stalwarts such as Anton Lembede, John Langalibalele Dube, Solomon Plaatjie. This category remains exclusive to founding fathers and mothers of our people. The country Bestowed the Order for his socio economic rights, fighting for justice and the restoration of the dignity of black people in urban areas. Chief Albert Luthuli remains one of our best scholars and liberation hero of our lifetime, having served as president General of the African National Congress and first African Nobel Peace Laureate which he received in 1960 and collected in 1961, with this award James Mpanza becomes entrenched in the legacy of our legendary elder statesman.