MK, noun

Forms:
Also M.K.
Short for Umkhonto we Sizwe; also, a member of this organization. Also attributive.
1964 H.H.W. De Villiers Rivonia 99This witness stated that the M.K. (Umkonto we Sizwe) was looked upon as the military wing of the African National Congress.
1984 R. Davies et al. Struggle for S. Afr. II. 294The formation of MK marked the beginnings of the armed struggle now based on a new formal organisational alliance between the Communist Party and the ANC.
1988 M. Petane in Frontline Apr. 8MK was formed when the ANC was banned.
1989 V. Gunene in Weekly Mail 3 Feb. 4As MK soldiers, we do not recognise this civilian court.
1990 Sunday Times 18 Feb. 22In ANC parlance, MK is short for Umkhonto we Sizwe — the movement’s military wing.
1991 G. McIntosh in Sunday Times 13 Jan. 16Comparing MK to the SADF is like comparing a mouse to an elephant.
1992 J. Contreras in Newsweek 22 June 25Mandela and other leaders were prepared to ignore the mayhem of some returned ANC guerrillas from..MK as long as they confined themselves to gangsterism, like ex-MK’s in a Durban township who call themselves the Russians and specialize in bank robbery.
1993 Daily News 15 Jan. 3On his involvement in suppressing the mutiny [in ANC camps in Angola], Mr Hani said he stepped in to stop the disintegration of MK and saw his task as restoring authority through ‘persuasive discussions and not the use of force’...Mr Hani said several members were sentenced to death after the mutiny by a tribunal.
Short for Umkhonto we Sizwe; also, a member of this organization. Also attributive.
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