Issued by African National Congress
26 November 2001
The African National Congress has learned with profound sadness of the death this evening (Monday, 26 November 2001) of Cde Joe Modise, a tried and tested leader of the democratic movement and a great South African patriot.
A member of the ANC National Executive Committee, former Commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and South Africa's first democratic Minister of Defence, Joe Modise will be sadly missed by all South Africans.
Cde JM will be remembered for his fearless and tireless commitment to the cause of liberation, dedicating the greater part of his life to the achievement of peace, democracy and justice in South Africa.
As commander of the people's army, Umkhonto we Sizwe, Joe Modise was at the forefront of the epic struggle to overthrow minority rule in South Africa. He led the integration of the former liberation armies and the SADF into a new democratic national defence force, charged with the defence of democracy and accountable to the people of South Africa.
Johannes Modise was born in Doornfontein on May 23, 1929 of working-class parents. His militancy was sparked by the destruction of Sophiatown in 1953. In the lengthy Treason Trial which started in 1956, Modise was one of the 156 activists charged.
The Anti-Pass Campaign of the 1950s, the Sharpeville killings and the subsequent banning of the ANC and other organisations also left a deep impression on Modise. Like hundreds of other young militants, he believed all avenues for peaceful struggle were closed and that the only alternative left was to take up arms against the apartheid regime.
He saw the establishment of Umkhonto we Sizwe, of which he has served on the high command since its inception in 1961, as a necessary development. Modise participated in the very first operations ever undertaken by MK.
Modise was charged by the High Command with the establishment of MK infrastructure in the regions (particularly Natal and the Eastern and Western Cape). He spent two years working underground, setting up MK cells and sending recruits out the country for military training.
Modise was instructed by the high command to go into exile early in 1963. His task was to get training himself, to oversee training of recruits sent out of the country and their safe return, and to arrange ordnance supplies from the socialist bloc to the liberation movement.
Modise underwent training in the then Czechoslovakia in mid-1963, Vietnam and later in the Soviet Union. He was a key figure in winning acceptance of MK by several African governments.
By 1965 the seven top MK commanders inside South Africa had been arrested at Rivonia, Wilton Mkwayi took over the leadership of MK. After his arrest, Modise was appointed army commander. By then, he was already serving on the NEC.
In the following years Modise established bases in Tanzania, Angola and Uganda. He oversaw training programmes in the Eastern Bloc, Cuba, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, China and the former GDR.
The year 1967 saw him engaged in the Wankie-Sipolilo campaign, when MK and ZIPRA forces engaged Ian Smith's troops in the war for the liberation of Zimbabwe and in an effort to simultaneously open up a route into South Africa. Modise was with the first group to reconnoitre the area. When the June 16 detachment flooded out of South Africa in 1976, Modise's structures were ready to receive them.
He was in the first group of ANC negotiators to hold talks with the Pretoria government at Groote Schuur in March 1990. Modise was re-elected to the NEC at Kabwe (1985), Durban (1991), Bloemfontein (1994) and Mafikeng (1997).
Modise served as Minister of Defence in the country's first democratic government, and oversaw the successful integration of the South African National Defence Force. He retired from government in 1999.
President Thabo Mbeki last week awarded Modise the Order of the Star of South Africa (Non-Military) Class 1: Grand Cross (Gold) for meritorious service to the country.
The ANC extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Cde Joe Modise. We dip our revolutionary banner in honour of this South African patriot.
Long live the spirit of Joe Modise.
Rest in peace, JM.
More information: Smuts Ngonyama 082 569 2061