Remembering Solomon Mahlangu

     It's time to hail South African Youths

Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu was only 22 when he died for freedom. On that fateful day in Pretoria, April 6, 1979, apartheid took Solomon's life. However, apartheid could not stop the inspiration the young man left in the hearts of many South Africans, particularly the youth. 

Today, the youth of South Africa remember the brave words Mahlangu left before facing the gallows, "Tell my people that I love them and that they must continue the fight, my blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom, Aluta continua". 

Mahlangu's last words are not just a sign of bravery, neither are they a result of impetuous youthfulness, they are a reflection of passion emanating from a level of political consciousness that compelled him to engage in the affairs of the country.

As South Africa joined the rest of the world in commemorating the International Youth Day on August 12 under the theme Youth Engagement for Global Action, the country needs to reflect on Solomon Mahlangu as the point of departure for youth participation in formal institutional politics regarding the formulation of laws, policies, and their implementation.

South Africa's youths are arguably the most engaged, politically, and socially in Africa, undeniably owing to the indelible challenge Mahlangu left on that day, April 6, 1979. Since the dawn of democracy, the country has seen the reincarnation of Solomon Mahlangu in many young men and women.

In March of 2015, the country witnessed the rise of a massive youth campaign, the Rhodes must fall, a student-led protest against institutional racism. The campaign which started at the University of Cape Town and later spread to many other universities targeted the  bronze statue of Cecil John Rhodes which was regarded as the epitome of white supremacy. 

In October 2015, the Mahlangu spirit vibrated again across the country in state universities in the form of fees must fall, another student-led protest against fees increase and other factors such as lack of funding for poor students, a decline in government funding for higher education and a lack of broad socio-economic transformation. 

Whilst the Rhodes must fall and fees must fall campaigns attracted both praises and controversy in equal measure, one point sticks out, they are a testimony of how the young people of South Africa are citizens who do not sit back and complain but engage in the affairs of the country to bring the change they want.

Although there is increasing evidence of political apathy amongst the youth across the globe, South Africa continues to record an increase in youth participation and engagement not only in student activism but also in the political and electoral processes of the country. 

The sixth national general elections saw a significant number of young people elected into parliament, making South Africa the country with the most number of young people serving in parliament on the African continent. 

According to the Parliament Monitoring Group, the sixth parliament has forty-eight youth legislators, making it double the size of the filth parliament, which had only twenty-four. In a world where young people are distancing themselves from institutional politics, South African youth choose to stand up and cover the space. 

Professor PLO Lumumba, delivering a speech on the tragedy of Africa lamented that young people are always promised that they are future leaders yet the older generation makes sure that the future never comes. Whilst this is true for other countries, South African youths continue to prove beyond any doubt that what they understand better is that anything for them without them is not for them. 

In many ways than one, the young men and women of this country have risen above Professor Lumumba's words. Standing to the Solomon Mahlangu challenge, they choose not to be spectators waiting on promises but to be active citizens eager to engage and contribute in shaping the country's destiny for themselves and future generations. 

Youth engagement in South Africa is not by any means a sign that South African youths are exempted from the problems that their colleagues face in other countries in Africa. Among other things, youth unemployment remains a major challenge in the country as it is a problem elsewhere on the continent. 

Statistics SA, in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released on 23 June, reported that youth unemployment stands at 41.7%. The Statistics SA report revealed that 8.5 million of 20.4 million youth between the age of 15 and 34 are not in employment, education, or training of any sort.

These challenges have not made South African youths coil back and surrender to fate. Instead, it is in these challenges that the young men and women of this country find the strength and determination to rise and engage in the political processes and policy-making of the country. For the youths of this country, life does not begin at forty. It began already on that fateful day in Pretoria, at the gallows of injustice when at only 22, Solomon died to inspire and let a legacy live.

If Solomon Mahlangu were to rise today and see the world celebrating International Youth Day under the theme Youth Engagement for Global Action, he would smile knowing that he was far much ahead of his time. But what he would be proud of, more importantly, is to see the youth of South Africa standing up to his challenge. Indeed life begins at any time when injustice stands in the path of one's dreams.