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Dr Tshepo Moloi co-edits new book on guerrilla radios

11 January 2021 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Supplied

Guerrilla Radios_Cover pages_web read more — The new book that Dr Tshepo Moloi has co-edited puts a spotlight on liberation struggle radios.

Dr Tshepo Moloi from the Qwaqwa Campus Department of History is the co-editor of a new book called Guerrilla Radios in Southern Africa: Broadcasters, Technology, Propaganda Wars, and the Armed Struggle.

This book is a collection of eleven essays on the histories of the radios attached to the armed wings of the liberation movements in the region. “This book is a shift from a parochial approach, which tended to analyse guerrilla radios within the framework of the nation state. It focuses on the experiences of the broadcasters and listeners during the era of the armed struggle. Using archival sources such as sound recordings of the guerrilla radio stations, together with interviews conducted with former broadcasters and listeners, the essays contained in this volume ask complex questions about the social histories of these stations,” said Dr Moloi.

Dr Moloi added that the essays explore the workings of propaganda and counter-propaganda and probe the effects that the radios had on the activists and supporters of the liberation movements – and, on the other hand, on the colonial counter-insurgency projects. They examine the relationships that these radios have forged at their multiple sites of operation in host countries, and also look at international solidarity and support, specifically for radio broadcasting initiatives.

Role played by guerrilla radio

“Our volume pushes the frontiers of knowledge production beyond exploration of broadcast content towards a more nuanced conception of radio as a medium formed by social and political processes. Guerrilla radio broadcasting, we argue, became a very powerful technology for disseminating insurgent propaganda messages of the liberation movements and for mobilising African workers, peasants, students and youth in the struggle against white minority domination in the entire region. From Angola to Mozambique, and from Zimbabwe to Namibia through to South Africa, the modern technology of radio has provided the liberation movements in exile with a platform for an aural or sonic presence among the followers of the liberation movements back home. It has become an effective instrument for propagating the ideologies of the liberation movements, as well as for countering the propaganda messages of the oppressive white minority regimes,” he added.

Conceptualisation of the book

He also revealed the thinking behind the book. “The concept arose from the realisation that despite the explosion of research on liberation struggles in Southern Africa, such as memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies of prominent leaders of the movements, as well as a scattering of (auto)biographies of the foot soldiers, there remained a dearth of studies on the media that the liberation movements employed, particularly radio.”

Other editors are Sekibakiba Peter Lekgoathi, a professor of History at Wits University and Prof Alda Romão Saúte Saíde from Pedagogic University in Maputo, Mozambique. The project was funded by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ (NIHSS) Catalytic Research Project.

News Archive

Statement: Visit of the Portfolio Committee on Education to the UFS

2005-02-25

The chair of the Portfolio Committee on Education (PCE) Prof Shepherd Mayatula has commended the management of the University of the Free State (UFS) for its positive approach to the incorporation of the Vista and Qwaqwa campuses.

According to a statement issued by the university’s communication section, Prof Mayatula said that while there were outstanding issues to address, a platform had been created through the visit of the portfolio committee for the UFS to find solutions.

Speaking at the end of a visit to the Bloemfontein campus of the UFS, Prof Mayatula said: “You know the issues that exist between the three campuses and you know the solutions. You don’t need recommendations from the Committee.”

Earlier today the PCE held a three-way meeting between the PCE, the management of the UFS and the Vista Task Team, representing staff and students at the Bloemfontein campus of the former Vista University .

The Bloemfontein campus of the former Vista University was incorporated into the UFS in January 2004.

The multi-party delegation from the PCE was led by its chairperson, Prof S Mayatula, while the delegation from the UFS was led by the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, while the Vista Task Team was lead by Mr Paseka Mokoena.

Following a presentation by the Vista Task Team and a presentation by the UFS management, other committee members also commended the UFS for the spirit in which outstanding issues were being handled.

It was indicated by portfolio committee members that other universities have far more serious problems than the UFS, and that some of these universities have also been visited by the PCE. The UFS appears to be on the road to be an important pilot case for incorporations and mergers.

The issues that were discussed during today’s meeting included the following:

outstanding issues in the process of incorporating the Bloemfontein campus of the former Vista University into the UFS, including:
staff issues and conditions of service
issues of student aid and pipeline students
governance of the UFS
the long term utilisation of Vista as a site

The Rector and Vice-chancellor of the UFS, Prof Fourie, expressed his appreciation for the role played by the Portfolio Committee on Education in bringing about a common understanding of the transformation issues facing the UFS.

Prof Fourie said the Portfolio Committee’s visit was a useful intervention to bring about a sense of urgency in resolving matters affecting the Vista campus as well as the Qwaqwa campus.

Issued by: Mr Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
Cell: 072-207-8334
Tel: 051-401-2749
25 February 2005

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