Thabang Sampson Phathakge Makwetla was born on 18 May 1957 in Lydenburg , a mining town in the Eastern Transvaal province , now known as Mpumalanga , South Africa . Since he participated in the Soweto Student Uprising in June 1976 , he was forced to flee the country before he could matriculate . He fled to Lesotho to complete his schooling and joined the ANC 's military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe ( MK ) , later serving as an instructor and political commissar in the organization . While serving in the MK , Makwetla was stationed in neighboring countries , such as Angola , Botswana , and Zambia
Soweto Student Uprising
Soweto uprising
Thabang Makwetla