The Land Is Ours – The Political Legacy of Mangaliso Sobukwe – by S.E.M. Pheko

In this book Mr. Pheko makes a noteworthy attempt to paint the Political Legacy of Mangaliso Sobukwe and I have to admit when I started reading this book I wasnt sure what to expect. The ANC has been painted throughout Azanias most recent history as the leader of the Liberation struggle in Azania, but what of the PACs contribution, is it not worth commending? First thing that comes to mind is the 1961 Sharpeville massacre, where over 60 unarmed peaceful protestors were gunned down mercilessly by the apartheid police, a pivotal point in the liberation struggle that indeed forced the world to pay attention to the painful existence of Afrikans in the racist republic.

As a start Pheko takes us back to the 16th century when the Portuguese first attempted to invade the much contested land, but the San people fought them off and killed many of the European settlers. He then briefly flows through the most famous battles between the oppressor(Boer & British) and the oppressed (Afrikan people of the land) as he covers the geographic landscape of Azania and makes his final stop on the life of Mangaliso Sobukwe from birth, early experiences/interests, his voracious appetite for books, his growth as an intellectual, his arrival into politics, break away from the ANC youth league, founding of the PAC, his battle with the apartheid forces whilst in and out of detention, last years before his death and his legacy afterwards.