As Chief Albert Luthuli said, a nation that does not know its history is like a tree without roots. Anyone claiming that the NUM was a creation of the Anglo American Corporation needs to learn the history of the resistance Struggle in our country.

Listen to this article 20 min Listen to this article 20 min I must defend my contribution and that of the generations of mineworkers who built the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). This is about more than just setting the record straight and not allowing distortions of history; it is also about honouring the hard work and sacrifices of those who have contributed to the union's history.

The NUM was built through the sweat, toil, and blood of mineworkers, not the funds of mining houses' bosses. Anyone who has evidence to the contrary must provide that for public scrutiny.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove adsThere has been much discussion in Parliament and on social media about NUM's origins, often amounting to idle gossip that discounts the early organisers' bravery and militancy.

Some, like Gayton McKenzie in his 2017 book, Kill Zuma by Any Means Necessary, allege a conspiracy in which Urban Foundation leaders and other prominent white capitalists had manipulated the establishment of the 1979 Wiehahn Commission and engineered the rise of Cyril Ramaphosa throughout his career until he became the secretary-general of the ANC and now the President of the Republic.

To the conspiracy theorists, no...