Rabul’ungafinci!

By: Amanda Mnikathi , Dominic Nkwana, Shaun Doch and Zongezile Matshoba

He was sharing their experiences as political prisoners during those tough apartheid days. Vuyisile Vincent Diba, another ex-political prisoner, briefly outlined how Robben Island has been behind slavery and imprisonment of innocent people since the arrival of the Dutch led by Jan van Riebeeck.

Diba said that it all started with the Dutch ruling that ended around the 1750. The British followed with their colonisation. This affected lots of people, especially African Chiefs, Khoisan people and women in general.

Diba reflected upon the nearly 400 years of Robben Island in which    indigenous South Africans and foreign legion who opposed and interfered with voyagers, traders and invaders were colonized, enslaved and imprisoned and subjected to harsh conditions.

Dede and Diba, when questioned if they are aggrieved, expressed that the struggle was above personal issues. It was about freedom, humanity and prosperity of each and every South African irrespective of race, colour, and religion.

They appealed to the present generation to continue where they have left. Their worry is that there is never going to be ex-political prisoners in the democratic South Africa to live and re-tell the stories when we are gone.

Robben Island was more than a political and educational intuition for them. It taught every political prisoner more than what was out there to learn.

“The sacrifice was worth dying for,” said Dede. “We paid human price with the understanding that racial discrimination has no place”.

The two appealed to the youth not to lose focus, and to continue the legacy as RIM is “a river that never dries”.