An Embarrassment to the Congresses?

Abstract

2007 was the 'Year of Luthuli' in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Throughout the year, events commemorating the 1967 death of the former President-General of the ANC celebrated his life and contribution to the liberation of South Africa. A year later, during the presidential succession battle various politicians paid tribute to Luthuli, positioning themselves as heirs to his political and moral legacy. Celebrated as a 'founding father' of South Africa's modern democratic state, who had led the ANC during some of the most dramatic events in its history and as Africa's first Nobel Peace Prize winner, Luthuli's name conjures awe and respect. Unsurprisingly, Luthuli has been assigned a prominent place in the process of nationalist myth making. This article is inspired by Michel Rolph Trouillot's, Silencing the Past: Power and Production of History (1995) and highlights the contrast between the present lionisation of Luthuli as a nationalist founding figure and the effective silencing of...