The banned wagon - part 2

The National Party government of South Africa dealt with many opponents of its policy of apartheid by "banning" them, that is restricting them to certain places, prohibiting them from being in other places, and prohibiting them from taking part in certain activities.

[ Index | The Banned Wagon part 1 | Liberal Party ]

H. Selby Msimang (1886-1992)

The oldest and youngest to be banned

John Aitchison (1944-)

selby01.jpg - 7494 Bytes The Nationalist government in South Africa made a determined effort to cripple the Liberal Party in 1964-1965. Among those banned in 1965 were John Aitchison, aged 20, possibly the youngest person to be given that honour, and Selby Msimang, aged 78, who may have been the oldest. jaitch1.jpg - 9689 Bytes

Selby Msimang was banned on 26 February 1965. He was running the Durban office of the Liberal Party at the time, and in terms of his banning order he had to return to his home at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg. John Aitchison was banned on 19 May 1965. He was the Natal Provincial Secretary of the Liberal Party, and had been documenting blackspot removals in Natal. He was a Theology Honours student at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, and was training for the ministry of the Anglican Church.
Professor Aitchison recently retired as head of the School of Education, Training and Development at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

Henry Selby Msimang

H. Selby Msimang was born on 13 December 1886 at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg, and at the age of 5 went to Swaziland, where his father was a Methodist missionary. He was educated at Kilnerton in Pretoria, at Edendale, and at Healdtown, near Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape.

At Healdtown he met his future wife, Mercy Mahlomela King, whom he married in 1912. Her parents lived in Bloemfontein, and at one tiome he was involved in business ventures with his faither-in-law. One of these was travelling aroun d the mountains of Lesotho collecting bones to sell. In a long and varied career he was at various times also a court interpreter, a solicitor's clerk, a journalist labour organiser for the ICU and a farm manager.

Three children were born of the marriage, but they all died young. His wife died in 1934, and he then married Miriam Noluthando Oldjohn. They had eight children.

Selby Msimang was a founder member of the South African National Native Congress in 1912, which later became the African National Congress (ANC), and served on the executive committee. In the 1940s he was also Natal Provincial Secretary of the ANC.

He was also a founder member of the Liberal Party, which was formed in 1953, which nearly cost him his job. He was working as a court messenger at the time, and when his photo appeared in a newspaper photo among the prominent founders, his boss wanted to dismiss him.

[ Index | The Banned Wagon part 1 | Liberal Party ]

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Created: 7 October 2001
Updated: 11 October 2013

H. Selby Msimang (1886-1992)	The oldest and youngest to be banned	John Aitchison (1944-)
	The Nationalist government in South Africa made a determined effort to cripple the Liberal Party in 1964-1965. Among those banned in 1965 were John Aitchison, aged 20, possibly the youngest person to be given that honour, and Selby Msimang, aged 78, who may have been the oldest.
Selby Msimang was banned on 26 February 1965. He was running the Durban office of the Liberal Party at the time, and in terms of his banning order he had to return to his home at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg.		John Aitchison was banned on 19 May 1965. He was the Natal Provincial Secretary of the Liberal Party, and had been documenting blackspot removals in Natal. He was a Theology Honours student at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, and was training for the ministry of the Anglican Church. Professor Aitchison recently retired as head of the School of Education, Training and Development at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.