EKU/NAMM/0008

Chris Hani, was a well respected and revered leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the South
African Communist Party and senior ranking ANC official, who played an important role in
liberation struggle and the negotiated transition for a free and democratic South Africa. He
led the Luthuli Detachment in the Wankie Campaign and was instrumental in the drafting of
the “Hani Memorandum: which ultimately led to the Morogoro Conference in 1969 which
bought about strategic structural changes within the ANC. Chris Hani was a strong
proponent of the peaceful negotiations after the unbanning of liberation movements and
played a critical role in the MK abandoning the armed struggle. His assassination bought the
country to the brink of civil war that led to Nelson Mandela’s plea, in what is regarded as a
“presidential” statement, for calm and for all South Africans to stand together in ensuring a
peaceful transition. The tensions at the time hastened the CODESA negotiations and an
agreement on a date for the first democratic elections. His gravesite and the Chris Hani
Memorial and Walk of Remembrance commemorate his life, work and sacrifice and
contribution to a free and a democratic South Africa; and mark a pivotal point in our history in
which the leadership and commitment to peaceful transition was proved.