Modise's continued political survival bore testimony to his strength of character and adept political skill and acumen

Political Correspondent

A towering figure in the liberation struggle, former defence minister Joe Modise, 72, who died of cancer on Monday, was one of a generation of leaders who led the African National Congress (ANC) through its turbulent years in exile and on to victory over the apartheid regime.

He died a few days after being awarded the Order of the Star of SA for meritorious service by President Thabo Mbeki.

His continued political survival, after more than three decades of involvement in the movement, is a testimony to his strength of character and adept political skill and acumen.

Generally regarded as a hawk in the democratic cabinet, Modise opposed military spending cuts and played a critical role in securing the replenishment of SA's weapons arsenal through the R43bn arms procurement package.

He died in the middle of controversy over these purchases, with questions being asked about his role in the acquisition process and whether he had been corrupt. However, the joint investigating team cleared him of impropriety.

Modise played a critical role in the successful post-apartheid integration of the armed forces. His cabinet terms were by no means uncontroversial as he had to deal with criticisms of the way he managed ANC military camps in Africa while in exile.

He served as commander of the ANC's underground army Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) for about 30 years through periods of heightened political turbulence and turmoil. He was a member of the ANC's national executive committee for more than 30 years and was one of the ANC negotiators who first held talks with the Pretoria government at Groote Schuur in March 1990.

He was also a member of the ANC's negotiating team at Kempton Park and through his spirit of compromise quickly developed a rapprochement with the apartheid military establishment, a closeness which ensured the relatively smooth incorporation of his erstwhile enemies into the new defence force. However, some believed this same bond also acted as a constraint on the rapid transformation of the force.

Johannes Modise, born in Doornfontein, Johannesburg on May 23, 1929 of working- class parents, was drawn into militant politics in his early twenties when he joined the ANC Youth League. He actively participated in resistance to the Sophiatown removals and in the anti-pass campaigns of the early 50s and together with 156 other ANC leaders and activists, was in the dock in the lengthy Treason Trial which started in 1956 and was aborted about three years later.

When the ANC was banned in the early 60s, Modise joined the armed struggle, being appointed to the MK high command in 1961 and commander in 1965, a position he held right up until the negotiations with the National Party government in the early 90s.

Initially he remained inside the country, spending two years working underground, setting up MK cells and sending recruits out of the country for military training. Then, in 1963, he went into exile to conduct operations from abroad.

Modise underwent military training in the then Czechoslovakia in 1964 and later in the Soviet Union and in 1965, after the arrest of top MK commanders in SA, was appointed MK commander and a member of the ANC national executive committee.

Based in Tanzania, but often spending time in Lusaka and Botswana as well, his task was to train and deploy recruits and organise military supplies.

According to his official biography, Modise played a key role in winning the acceptance of several African governments for MK and was instrumental in the ANC setting up military bases in Tanzania, Angola and Uganda. He oversaw training programmes in the Eastern Bloc, Cuba, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and China.

After the installation of SA's first democratic government, Modise's task as defence minister was to create a unified army and ensure the integration of MK ex-combatants. He was also called upon to justify the actions of MK before the truth commission.

He and 36 other senior ANC leaders were denied "collective amnesty" by the commission for gross human rights violations by ordinary ANC members.

Previously, the Motsuenyane Commission into human rights abuses at ANC camps had criticised Modise for failing to exercise sufficient control over the camps.

With acknowledgement to Linda Ensor and Business Day.