A Survey of African Poetry in the London Times, Sunday Times, Financial Times, the Times Literary Supplement 1865-1985

The 1985 Execution of Benjamin Moloise in The Times and The Sunday Times

Poet and political activist Benjamin Moloise’s execution on October 18, 1985 stirred an uproar that sent people in South Africa onto the streets in a charged protest, with the outcry "Blood of Moloise!" Moloise was hanged at Pretoria Central Prison by the apartheid South African government for his alleged involvement in the murder of a Black security policeman, Phillipus Selepe. There was some coverage of events leading to this execution in the newspapers, including two reports by Ray Kennedy in The Times, titled “The pressures mount on Pretoria” and “Pretoria judge delays hanging” subtitled “ANC Plea on Black’s Execution”. In the first article published on August 20^th, 1985, Kennedy writes about the appeal made to the South African president at the time, Pieter Botha, “to reprieve a Black man due to be hanged.” In the second paragraph, the man is identified as simply thirty-year-old Benjamin Moloise and Kennedy gives no reference to his work as a poet, his membership in the banned African National Congress (ANC), nor to his contributions to the liberation movement and opposition to apartheid.

In the second article, released one day after the first publication, Kennedy describes Benjamin Moloise as a ‘poet and upholsterer’ and notes matter-of-factly that he was to be hanged “for the murder of a black security policeman.” The rest of the story centers on the judicial process and shares Moloise’s lawyer’s move to present fresh evidence to the Pretoria Supreme Court. There is not much written about Moloise—his political activism or his poems--

nor about the nature of his alleged involvement in killing the officer. Even in this second report, there is still some distance from the personhood of Moloise and his artistic expression. It is unclear what could be the cause of this lack of representation. Moloise’s name and execution aroused national unrest and global attention. One could argue that following the news of his death, Moloise’s name and execution shined some light on his poetry and activism as well.

Moloise, whose poetry was known for its critique of the oppressive South African apartheid regime, inscribed many poems on the walls of his cell when he was on death row, with one line ending “The storm of oppression will be followed by the rain of my blood…I am proud to give my life, my solitary life.” This detail came to be known when his mother, Pauline Moloise, produced the poems, saying “I am very proud. I never thought one day I would have a warrior in my arms.” In The Times news article published on October 18, 1985, “Black poet defiant in face of death,” Ray Kennedy includes this moment in his article as he considers the mother’s interaction with her son during her prison visit. His choice of ‘defiance’ to describe Moloise’s response is interesting. When Kennedy writes that “ [Moloise] had no regrets about his involvement with the ANC,” he notes Moloise’s stance to continue his activism and refusal to back down in the face of persecution. The news article highlights the poet’s resistance and vision for an apartheid-free government. The excerpt of the poetry on the walls of his cell alludes to his activism and vision, as well as reveals his determination and bravery in the face of trial. 

On October 19, 1985, a third article by Ray Kennedy was published in The Times: “Thousands Riot after Pretoria Poet is executed.” The featured picture shows Moloise’s mother with her hand raised in a “black power salute.” There is no image of Moloise himself. The execution of Benjamin Moloise “drew protests and condemnation from around the world, especially in central Johannesburg.” In the articles mentioned earlier in this essay, Moloise was referred to as a ‘black poet’ and while this description continues in the other news articles, this headline following his execution is one worth noting:he goes from being a black poet to a ‘Pretoria poet.’ There is a specificity to this labeling, a description that ties him to South Africa and the African continent. There seems to be an impulse to separate the violence and unrest of that moment in Africa, particularly, Pretoria, from that of the world. This specificity could be read to dissociate and create a clear divide between a black poet and a Pretoria poet whose execution leads to turmoil. Notwithstanding, Moloise’s poetic voice was fierce and proved to be a useful tool in rallying people to speak against leadership failures, violence, and oppression in South Africa. Through his writing and activism, he resisted silence and displayed an unwavering commitment to the fight for freedom and the call against segregationist policies.

Two days after Moloise’s death, Maurice Chittenden and Eric Marsden write the article “Police Hold 280 after Apartheid Sit-down” for The Sunday Times featuring a black and white image of the police restraining two young men. The caption reads: “Strife in two cities: Police arrest demonstrators after Friday’s Johannesburg riots and yesterday’s London protest.” The article reports the arrest of demonstrators in London who called on leaders to impose sanctions on South Africa for carrying out Moloise’s execution. Again, Moloise is referred to as a poet, although no attention is given to his work. A key observation is how several of these newspapers centered their coverage on the incidents surrounding the man, his execution, and its aftermath, and hardly about the man himself, his political activism, and especially not his poetry, although this is how he is identified in their headlines and the text. That said, it is important to acknowledge that a compilation of his poems was not readily available until 1990 and that perhaps the lack of it was largely due to issues of accessibility.

Nevertheless, these reports failed to emphasize the poet’s activism and the role his art played in his political engagements. The execution of South African activist and poet Benjamin Moloise drew the attention of the Soviet Union, the European Community, and the U.N. Security Council, and set off an unprecedented reaction from the people of Johannesburg as they fought back white authorities, putting their own lives at risk, an act that echoes the poet’s words and unrelenting allegiance: “The storm of oppression will be followed/ By the rain of my blood/ I am proud to give my life/ My one solitary life."

Bio: Tryphena Yeboah is a writer from Ghana and a doctoral student in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Chapman University.

Works Cited

Chittenden, Maurice, and Eric Marsden. "Police hold 280 after apartheid sit-down." Sunday Times, 20 Oct. 1985, p. 2. The Sunday Times Historical Archive, link-gale-com.libproxy.unl.edu/apps/doc/FP1801577643/GDCS?u=linc74325&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=364ece2f. Accessed 29 Sept. 2022.

Kennedy, Ray. "Pretoria judge delays hanging." Times, 21 Aug. 1985, p. 1. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.libproxy.unl.edu/apps/doc/CS18452757/GDCS?u=linc74325&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=828b0926. Accessed 29 Sept. 2022.

Kennedy, Ray. "Black poet defiant in face of death." Times, 18 Oct. 1985, p. 7. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.libproxy.unl.edu/apps/doc/CS118198610/GDCS?u=linc74325&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=b44b1fed. Accessed 29 Sept. 2022.

Kennedy, Ray. "Thousands in riot after Pretoria poet is executed." Times, 19 Oct. 1985, pp. 1+. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.libproxy.unl.edu/apps/doc/CS17535315/GDCS?u=linc74325&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=c51239ea. Accessed 29 Sept. 2022.

Kennedy, Ray, and Tony Duboudin. "The pressures mount on Pretoria." Times, 20 Aug. 1985, p. 4. The Times Digital Archive, link-gale-com.libproxy.unl.edu/apps/doc/CS68129044/GDCS?u=linc74325&sid=bookmark-GDCS&xid=c81b025b. Accessed 29 Sept. 2022.

Mtra, Dip. “Benjamin Moloise-the Black Poet Freedom Fighter.” HubPages, 11 June 2022, https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/Banjamin-Moloise.

Smith, James F. “Black Militant Poet Hanged for Killing Policeman with South Africa.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 19 Oct. 1985, https://apnews.com/article/2336c6ad406f2962c4dc46a9ecf8ebba. 

Smith, James F. “Black Militant Poet Hanged for Killing Policeman with South Africa.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 19 Oct. 1985, https://apnews.com/article/2336c6ad406f2962c4dc46a9ecf8ebba.