Joe Slovo with Nelson Mandela |
The 6th of January 2025 marked the 30th death anniversary of Joe Slovo, anti-apartheid fighter, leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from 1984 to 1991 and leading member of the African National Congress (ANC). He served as Minister of Housing in Nelson Mandela's first government, from April 1994 until his death.
Born as Yossel Mashel Slovo on 23 May 1926 in Obelai, Lithuania, Slovo’s journey to South Africa at the age of nine marked the beginning of his lifelong commitment to the working class and its struggles. His childhood hardships forced him to start working in a warehouse at the age of sixteen, where he encountered the harsh realities of capitalist exploitation.