PIONEER
Ben Turok
Academic | Human Rights Activist | Political Commentator
Born: 26 June 1927 Died: 9 December 2019
“Indeed, it may be that throughout my political life in the ANC, I have been driven by ideas rather than practical politics, trying to move the process faster than objective reality allowed. This is not because I have any regrets. Not at all! I have had the richest of lives, tough as mine was, even though South Africa still has to complete its transition and press on with the transformation. The struggle is by no means over.”
Who is
Ben Turok?
Author, academic, anti-apartheid activist, and lifelong political thinker.
Professions
and Roles
Academic, Congress of Democrats (CoD), South African Communist Party (SACP), African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament (MP), trade union activist, Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) activist, author, editor, and publisher.
Best Known For
His role in the South African CoD, his lifelong dedication to political thinking and action, and his outspoken criticism of the ANC in recent years.
Life highlights
- Turok was born in Latvia and came to South Africa with his family in 1934. He was a trained town planner and held degrees in engineering, philosophy, and political science. He worked as an academic and a prolific author.
- Turok was one of the organisers of the 1952 Defiance Campaign, and was one of the people arrested during the 1956 Treason Trial.
- He was a central member of the CoD, becoming national secretary in 1958.
- Turok was convicted under the Explosives Act in 1962: jailed, released, and put under house arrest before escaping to spend more than two decades in exile.
- He worked as the director of the Institute for African Alternatives and edited the journal New Agenda.
- Turok served as an ANC MP from 1995 until 2014, and as a co-chairman of Parliament’s ethics committee. He faced disciplinary action and accusations of being “counter revolutionary” for speaking out against ANC measures he deemed unconstitutional, like the Protection of State Information Bill.
IN THE WORDS OF OTHERS
“He will be remembered as an icon of the struggle for justice and democracy, a man who throughout his life remained determinedly committed to equality, non-racialism and full human rights, and he demanded dignity for all the people of South Africa.”
– Staff of the Institute for African Alternatives
“He was always outspoken and dedicated his whole life to fighting for freedom, equality and social justice in South Africa. He was a loyal, lifetime member of the ANC, but retained an independent perspective throughout.”
– A statement from Turok’s family after his death
Turok authored the economic clause in the Freedom Charter.
References
