The Order of Mendi for Bravery in

Silver

Wilson Ndaliso Boy Ngcayiya aka Bogart Soze (Posthumous) Awarded for:

His excellent contribution to the fight for the liberation of this country. He courageously placed his life in constant danger, inspired by a solid conviction that one day South Africa will be free from oppressive apartheid rule.

Profile of Mr Wilson Ndaliso Boy Ngcayiya

Mr Wilson Ndaliso Boy Ngcayiya, also known as Comrade Bogart Soze, was born on 26 December 1929 in Johannesburg. He was one of six children born to Rev George Themba Ngcayiya and his wife Ivy Noncamiso. He attended Orlando High School in Soweto.

After witnessing the injustices of the apartheid system, Ngcayiya joined the African National Congress in 1961. He received his training in explosives before going to exile. He left the country when his comrade, Wilton Mkayi, was arrested.

Ngcayiya went to Tanzania and the Soviet Union, where he received his military training in 1964. He later joined the Luthuli Detachment in its first military camp in Kongwa, Tanzania. He worked as engineering instructor in demolitions, using both home-made and factory explosives, and trained many new recruits.

In 1974 Ngcayiya was deployed in Botswana clandestinely to prepare a short training programme for Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadres, but was quickly intercepted by the Botswana security police and deported to Zambia. Later on he served in the Revolutionary Council in charge of operational funds as a chief representative in Mozambique. He also served at the MK military headquarters in Zambia as Head of Logistics, a position he held until his return to South Africa in 1991.