A Leap in the Dark: The Disappearance of Flag Boshielo, Castro Dolo, Victor Ndaba and Bob Zulu in August 1970

Abstract

In August 1970, four senior African National Congress members–Flag Boshielo, Castro Dolo, Victor Ndaba and Bob Zulu–vanished during their clandestine return to South Africa from exile in Zambia. It was thought that they had met a tragic end while crossing the Zambezi River into the Eastern Caprivi of South West Africa (now the Zambezi Region of Namibia). After 1994, renewed attempts to establish the men’s fate were hampered by a paucity of archival data, the unwillingness of witnesses to provide information and the passage of time. Recent research in the Eastern Caprivi brought new information to light when local communities were found to be familiar with a story about ‘foreign fighters’ who crossed the Zambezi River. The strangers were betrayed to the South African police and drawn into an ambush. Research in the National Archives of Namibia also yielded new information. By piecing together local narratives with archival material and interviews with former members of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the South African Police, this article chronicles the odyssey and fate of Boshielo and his companions, although some questions remain. Unfortunately, in South Africa, the search for those who disappeared during the struggle against white minority rule is by no means complete. This article demonstrates the value of extending research beyond South African borders when information and knowledge are scattered across countries, institutions, communities and individuals.