Citation

Couper SE. S. Afr. Hist. J. 2012; 64(3): 564-586.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/02582473.2012.660787

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The nationalist narrative that Albert Luthuli received in December 1961 the Nobel Peace Prize for his unambiguous advocacy of strict non-violent methods to fight Apartheid and the next week supported the launch of the armed struggle is historographic oxymoron. Nationalist pundits decry that the acknowledgement of such a gross contradiction 'distances Luthuli from his movement'. Or, they confess that 'all nascent countries adopt myth' in the interests of nation building. Or, they simply deny the contradiction exists by introducing 'ambiguity'. The author asserts that Luthuli held and articulated an unambiguous stance against the use of violence within the South African context during the 1950s and 1960s. The author suggests that Nelson Mandela, at best, undermined Luthuli and, at worst, committed insubordination by launching uMkhonto we Sizwe without the ANC and Luthuli's knowledge or assent. The author utilises archival evidence to resolve irreconcilable differences in nationalist historiography and seeks to restore Luthuli's agency by resisting his absorption into Mandela's 'cult of personality'.