Nelson Diale
Letsau Nelson Diale was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist from Limpopo. He joined the African National Congress in 1956 and served eight years' imprisonment on Robben Island, from 1964 to 1972, for his work with Umkhonto we Sizwe. After the end of apartheid, he represented the ANC in the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 1999 and in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2014.
Early life and career
He was born on 1 January 1936 at GaMasemola in Limpopo in the former Northern Transvaal. He did not complete his schooling but instead, in 1952, left the village to take up work as a waiter at a hotel in Pretoria. He joined the African National Congress in 1956 and the Domestic Workers' Union, an affiliate of the South African Congress of Trade Unions, in 1958. The ANC was banned in 1960 by the apartheid government, but Diale covertly joined the party's new armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, and underwent military training. In January 1964, his unit was arrested; after being severely tortured, they were convicted of sabotage and imprisoned on Robben Island. Diale served eight years and was released in 1972.After his release, Diale was subject to a banning order which, for the next four years, restricted his movements and political activities. He nonetheless continued to work underground for the ANC. In the mid-1970s, he was arrested again but on that occasion was acquitted and served with another banning order. In the 1980s, he helped Aaron Motsoaledi establish the Sekhukhune Advice Office, which provided logistical and financial advice to detained or injured activists and their families.