TRIUMPHS AND HEARTACHES, a courageous journey by South African patriots

335pp., colour illus., paperback, Johannesburg, 2015

The autobiography of Mosibudi Mangena, a lifelong member of the Black Consciousness Movement. Instrumental in organising the interim structure of the Black People’s Convention (BPC), he was elected as the organisation’s National Organiser in 1972. As a result of his political activities he was arrested, charged under the Terrorism Act, and imprisoned on Robben Island from 1973-8. After his release he was banned for five years and placed under house arrest. In 1981 Mengena and his family left the country for exile in Botswana, where he was elected as Chairperson of the Botswana Region of the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA). He also served as a member of the central committee from 1982-1994. Mangena returned to South Africa in 1994 after the first democratic elections and was elected as President of the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO). He was re-elected in 1998 and after the 1999 general election became AZAPO’s only Member of Parliament (MP). In 2001 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Education and served as Minister of Science and Technology from 2004 to 2009. When Thabo Mbeki resigned as President of South Africa AZAPO withdrew Mangena from his ministerial position.
Mangena is the author of four other books: "On Your Own" (1989), "A Twin World" (1996), "A Quest for True Humanity" (1996), and "My Grand Mother is Permanent" (2004).