WeeklySA_AdminCOMPASSION:Medico had abiding trust in quest for the oppressed to be masters of own agency
By Monk Nkomo
To many of those who did not know him well, Dr. Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo was just a medical practitioner who was only confined to his profession of helping the sick. Nothing else. Little did they know that this dimunitive and bespectacled figure was a fiery political activist and senior member of the ANC who strived for the liberation of his black people in this country. This was a man who had taken over the baton from his late father, Dr. William Frederick Nkomo , a world renown teacher, medic and political activist.
Dr. Nkomo Snr. was one of the community and ANC leaders in Lady Selborne and Atteridgeville who were brave enough to challenge the apartheid government and its racist policies. His son took over from where he left and spearheaded the fight against the unjust laws and the government’s policies of treating black people as sojourners in their own country.
Popularly known as ‘’ Bra Abbey’’, and together with other local and younger political activists, they formed a civic body, the Atteridgeville-Saulville Residents Organization (ASRO) in 1984. Dr. Abbey Nkomo was elected chairman . Amongst its aims and objectives, ASRO, which comprised members of the ANC, wanted to collapse the community councils by calling on black councillors to resign.
This was because these councillors were actually being used by the apartheid government to carry out and implement its unjust laws. ASRO organized community meetings in the township urging residents not to pay the high rent that was reflected on their monthly accounts. They also held several marches, led by Nkomo calling on residents to pay a flat rate of R50 a month. Residents unanimously complied with the proposal.
The result ended with the City Council of Pretoria plunging the whole Atteridgeville township into darkness after the Atteridgeville Town Council failed to pay for the supply of power due to lack of funds. The plan to collapse the council and render it useless was a success. Angered by the City Council’s decision, residents, after a few days, retaliated by embarking on ‘’ Operation Tshuma’’ ( Operation Light up) when they organized groups around the township carrying long step ladders to switch on the electricity supplies. Within a a few hours the whole of Atteridgeville houses had their lights switched on.
This was also the time when the police and agents provocateurs intensified their interest on Dr. Nkomo. His consulting rooms were vandalized and his house petrol bombed. Once while I was with him at his surgery, he told me that even the Military Intelligence were keeping surveillance on his movements. He was also detained during the State of Emergency and released without being charged. All this however did not deter him from his continued fight against the injustices of the apartheid regime. He prevailed unscathed.
As a medic, Dr. Nkomo helped many to heal from their ailments. I was one of them. I was on the brink of death when my father rushed me to Dr. Nkomo’s surgery which was still in Chauke Street, Saulsville. It was on January 31, 1976 at around 3pm when I collapsed shortly after tying the knot with my wife at the Swiss Mission Presbyterian Church. This was a few hours before the engagement party that evening. When my condition worsened, my father rushed me to Dr. Nkomo who managed to stabilize me and asked my family to quickly take me to hospital. I regained consciousness after about two hours. I was admitted for a week. Upon my discharge I went to thank him for saving my life.
A humble person who always had an ear to listen to those around him, Dr. Nkomo’s passing on shocked many Atteridgeville residents. He had barely buried his younger brother, popularly known as ‘’KK’’ almost two months ago when he also left these shores. Born on June 1, 1940, Dr. Nkomo ran his race very well until July 10 this year.
May The Lord bless his soul.
