Revival of spirit of UDF would be good for SA, says ex-WC spokesperson Jaffer
The United Democratic Front (UDF)'s former spokesperson for Western Cape, Naseegh Jaffer, said despite all the odds being against it, the UDF 'had faith' it could achieve its primary goal to overthrow the apartheid government.
United Democratic Front marks 40 years on 20 August 2023. Picture: Twitter/@_cosatu
CAPE TOWN - The United Democratic Front (UDF) celebrated its 40th anniversary on Sunday, marking a historic event in South Africa’s political history.
The UDF, launched in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, was an umbrella body made up of over 400 organisations, from student bodies, trade unions, churches and civic organisations.
Its main mission was to overthrow the apartheid government.
Naseegh Jaffer joined the UDF through his involvement in the Bo-Kaap Civic Association.
He eventually became the UDF Western Cape spokesperson in the mid-80s.
Jaffer said with all the odds against them, they knew they would achieve their first goal.
"We had faith. We knew it was going to be possible to overthrow apartheid - that was a 'no-brainer' for us. You have to believe in what you are doing."
But he explained that many believed they were not ready for the second part of the mission.
"Some people believed that when apartheid fell, when Mandela was released, people literally felt we were not ready to govern because we haven't had those discussions.
“We were so familiar and so keyed up in discussions about how to overthrow apartheid but not what to replace it with."
Jaffer said a revival of the spirit of the UDF would be good for the country, but said we needed to identify what we wanted for the future.