Lindela 'Mashumi' Figlan, Abahlali baseMjondolo
Lindela Figlan was born on the 27th of December 1970 in J.B.
Location in Flagstaff in Pondoland in what was then the Transkei bantustan.
His mother was from the Radebe family and she kept the home.
His father was secretary of the congress that went into revolt on Ngquza Hill
in 1960. More than 4 000 men occupied Ngquza Hill. They were determined to
fight for their land and for their dignity. The apartheid state sent in the
military and there was a massacre. The courage of the men on Ngquza Hill is
always remembered in Pondoland today. The songs from that struggle, like
'Asiyifuni idompas', are still sung today. When Lindela was a young boy the
police used to come to their home from time to time, kick in the door and
kidnap his father. Sometimes they would take him to a place known as Betani
where they would force him to dig potatoes with his hands saying that they did
not want to risk damaging their tools. When he came home his fingernails would
be red.
