[1] From about 1928, the Comintern proposed a policy in which the CPSA would first campaign for a "native republic", in which black South Africans would assume leading roles, with this being a stepping stone to socialism.
By the start of 1929, they had won the debate in the party, which adopted the policy, and Douglas was elected as general secretary of the CPSA and editor of its newspaper, the South African Worker.
[2] Douglas began working for the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) Colonial Department, then in 1930 the couple went to Moscow, where they attended the Fifth Congress of the Red International of Labour Unions.
Douglas was made a consultative delegate on behalf of the CPGB, and he took part in discussions about the situation in South Africa, helping the Comintern draft directives on how their policies should be applied in the country.
[5] They were targeted by the South African government; in 1932, Douglas was sentenced to hard labour, while early in 1933 he was convicted of encouraging transport workers in Cape Town to strike and was imprisoned.