The launch of uMkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), the armed wing of the ANC, was announced on 16 December 1961 by a series of bomb blasts against apartheid structures in Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
Petrus Molefe was the first MK operative to be killed during those first operations. He lost his life in Dube Soweto, when an explosive device which he was carrying went off. He was accompanied by Ben Ramotsi, who was seriously injured. Petrus Molefe is buried in Nancefield Cemetery, Soweto.
The Petrus Molefe Monument was commissioned by Johannesburg City Parks, with guidance from Community Development (Arts, Culture and Heritage). The monument was formally unveiled at the opening of the Petrus Molefe Eco-Park on 9 December 2011. The launch of the new park, attended by MK veterans, was held in the run-up to the 50th Anniversary of uMkhonto we Sizwe (16 December 2011).
The artwork is set around four brick columns.
In the middle of the columns is a wide circle 5 metres in diameter, with a floor-mosaic of the MK emblem of a warrior with a spear and shield. The MK logo is done as a pebble mosaic, set against a white stone background.
The four equidistant columns, standing 5 metres high by 700 cm wide, with cement tops, resemble sentry-boxes, facing in different directions (north-south and east-west). Each of the pillars is decorated with mosaic bearing inscriptions from key documents in the annals of the struggle for democracy. The lettering is in black mosaic set into a white and off-white background. The main pillar carries a portrait in mosaic of Petrus Molefe.
The launch of uMkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), the armed wing of the ANC, was announced on 16 December 1961 by a series of bomb blasts against apartheid structures in Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
Petrus Molefe was the first MK operative to be killed during those first operations. He lost his life in Dube Soweto, when an explosive device which he was carrying went off. He was accompanied by Ben Ramotsi, who was seriously injured. Petrus Molefe is buried in Nancefield Cemetery, Soweto.
The Petrus Molefe Monument was commissioned by Johannesburg City Parks, with guidance from Community Development (Arts, Culture and Heritage). The monument was formally unveiled at the opening of the Petrus Molefe Eco-Park on 9 December 2011. The launch of the new park, attended by MK veterans, was held in the run-up to the 50th Anniversary of uMkhonto we Sizwe (16 December 2011).
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