The Man They Killed

I first learned about him, when he was hanged by the South African Apartheid-era government of Peter Botha. He was executed for the allegedly killing people, an accusation the young poet refuted till the end. Nelson Mandela was still in prison and the end of South African Apartheid was still a thing of the remote future.

One day in 1993, I would enter the room of CSB at the Jubilee Hall, the most prestigious hostel of the University of Delhi. On his wall was a printout (or a page from a journal), on which was a poem. I usually remember such things quite well; but still, what I will write below is entirely from my memory and so, there may be inaccuracies in it. (This is one of the few poems I failed to locate in the Web yet!)

"I am proud of what I am
Proud of what I did in my life
My blood with rain over my land,
My life,
My only life,
I give it to freedom."

What intrigued me more than the poem was the name of the poet at the bottom. It was him.

I would never know if he really commited any murder or was simply framed. A radio drama broadcast by the all India Radio was based on the view that that he was just framed. But then I don't know the veracity of the drama. I do not even know if Athol Fugard or someone of his stature ever wrote on this issue;I have very little information.

However, the fact remains that Benjamin Moloisi was executed on the 18th of October, 1985; he was only 30!