The churches' response to political violence in the last years of apartheid: the case of Mpophomeni in the Natal Midlands

Abstract

This article discusses the role of the Christian churches in the political conflict that engulfed the black township of Mpophomeni near Howick in the 1980s and early 1990s. It argues that, despite obvious limitations, this role was significant, much more than in other violence-affected areas of Natal. The dismissal of the entire workforce of BRT Sarmcol in May 1985, many of whom lived in Mpophomeni, and their replacement by scabs from Inkatha-dominated areas triggered a cycle of deadly attacks and counterattacks, which only ended in 1993. A collection of oral testimonies, gathered at the time of the conflict and supplemented in recent years as part of a community project, shows that the Mpophomeni residents felt supported by the Christian churches, which provided material assistance to the unemployed, procured land for their cooperative, buried the victims of their enemies, helped the refugees to settle, testified on the involvement of the police in the conflict and supported the efforts of reconstruction. Some residents interpreted their history in religious terms, using biblical analogies. The churches’ involvement in the Mpophomeni conflict, however, must be put in perspective. They did not drive the struggle for justice and reparation of the Mpophomeni people; they only supported it. The main impetus came from the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU), to which the majority of Sarmcol workers belonged, and from a wide range of anti-apartheid activists – including health professionals, cultural workers, academics and journalists – attracted to the township by the trade unions.