Fort Calata was born on 5 November 1956. He developed an early interest in politics, as his grandfather, the Reverend Canon James Arthur Calata had been the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1936 to 1949. Calata was a trained teacher. In 1974, he met his wife, Nomonde, and the couple had three children. According to Nomonde Calata, in the early years of their marriage, her husband was arrested several times for his outspokenness against the poor conditions in his local community. In 1983, having been transferred from Dimbaza to Cradock, Calata took up a teaching post at the Sam Xhallie Secondary School, under newly appointed headmaster, Matthew Goniwe. Calata became a close friend and political ally of Goniwe’s. When Goniwe and others founded the Cradock Youth Association (CRADOYA), Calata was elected as its first secretary. He was also an active member of the United Democratic Front (UDM), then a banned anti-apartheid organisation.
Matthew Goniwe was born on 27 December 1947 in Lingelihle Township on the outskirts of Cradock in the Eastern Cape. He was the youngest of eight children born to Elizabeth and David Goniwe. Goniwe completed his teaching degree at the University of Fort Hare, before returning to the school he had attended as a child, Sam Xhallie Secondary School, as a teacher and later principal. In 1975, Goniwe married his wife, Nyameka. The couple had two children. In addition to being an academic, Goniwe also became a popular community leader in Cradock. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, he would be arrested several times under the Suppression of Communism Act 44 of 1950 for his interest in Marxism and communism. Goniwe and Sparrow Mkhonto were instrumental in the forming of CRADOYA and the Cradock Residents’ Association (CRADORA) in 1983. He was also elected as CRADOYA’s first chairperson, and served as the rural organiser for the UDM in the area.
Sicelo Mhlauli was born on 25 May 1949 in Cradock. He and Goniwe were childhood friends. As adults, both men found themselves drawn to the same profession – teaching. Mhlauli began his teaching career at the Tembalabantu High School in Zwelitsha in 1970, and later became a school principal in Oudtshoorn. In 1980, Mhlauli married Nombuyiselo Zonke, and the couple had three children. While working as a teacher, Mhlauli had several run-ins with the police over the latter’s treatment of the local community and school children. As a principal, he was an active member of the Oudtshoorn Youth Organisation. He was also a member of the UDM. In June 1985, Mhlauli returned to Cradock to visit friends while his wife was attending a course in Port Elizabeth. As his old friend, Goniwe, was taking a trip to Port Elizabeth himself, Mhlauli was invited to join him.
Sparrow Mkonto was born on 24 December 1951 in Cradock. Having left school after Grade 10, Mkonto began working on the railways. Of the members of the Cradock Four, Mkonto’s circumstances were perhaps the most difficult, with lower wages than those of the others. In 1972, he married his wife, Sindiswa, and the couple had one child. Dissatisfied with the working and living conditions in his community, Mkonto joined the Railway Workers’ Union. He was also instrumental in the forming of CRADOYA and CRADORA. These political associations brought Mkonto to the attention of the police, and on more than one occasion, he was arrested and questioned about his activities in the various organisations.
By the early 1980s, all four men were known to the police as outspoken critics of the apartheid regime. However, Goniwe and Calata were considered the most dangerous, as their influence in the UDM continued to grow. Both were rumoured to be under surveillance and/or on a secret police hit list. On 18 October 1983, to curb Goniwe’s influence, the Security Branch of the South African Police (SAP) ordered the Department of Education to transfer Goniwe out of Cradock. When Goniwe refused to comply and was subsequently fired, a mass student boycott of schools was organised. The boycott lasted for over a year.
In 1984, the police increased their efforts to rein the men in, and banned all CRADOYA and CRADORA meetings. The community responded by rioting, however, this was quickly suppressed. In 1985, after further community clashes with the police, an agreement was reached in which Goniwe would be reinstated, the students would return to school, and the community would cease rioting and/or boycotting white-owned businesses. However, one month after the agreement, the police raided the Lingelihle municipality. This turnabout exacerbated tensions and resulted in the residents forming street committees, with elected representatives who could mobilise on the residents’ behalf. This became known as the G-Plan or Goniwe’s Plan.
On 27 June 1985, the Cradock Four were arrested at a roadblock set by the Security Branch, assaulted, and murdered. They were on their way back to Cradock from a business trip to Port Elizabeth.
The bodies of all four men were returned to Cradock, where a mass funeral was held. It was attended by thousands, who came from all over the country to pay their respects. The government became alarmed at the mass gathering, and a State of Emergency was declared, with hundreds of mourners arrested. Subsequent to the Cradock Four’s deaths, their families would undergo many more years of police surveillance and harassment.
