South Africa: 'What We Fought for in 1976 Is At Risk of Vanishing' - Khusta Jack

The veteran student activist warns that those in power today are steadily dismantling the achievements of the liberation struggle.

In 1976, political activist, Nelson Mandela Bay councillor and businessperson Khusta Jack was at the forefront of school protests in what was then known as Port Elizabeth. "I was here for about a year when we started our protest action," he said.

Having grown up on a farm outside Humansdorp, Jack was barred by the apartheid-era dompas (passbook) legislation from accessing the city for education purposes, so he could not go to high school. "Also, I only started primary school at 10, so I was falling behind."

By 19, he had only just started high school. "The education protests were my first formal political campaign. I had to learn everything very quickly," he said. "It was the moment I got into politics. "At the time, the debate in the city was about the homelands. In the beginning, I thought that the homelands were just fine. I saw black people from the homelands who were wearing shoes and driving nice cars, and I thought that was good."

After arriving in the city, Jack then heard about the ANC. "I always had this sense of justice - I wanted to do what was right. So when we saw the uprising in Soweto...