Robert Sobukwe
5th December 1924 - 27 February 1978
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe
“The wheel of progress revolves relentlessly and all the nations of the world take their turn at the field-glass of human destiny. Africa will not retreat! Africa will not compromise! Africa will not relent! Africa will not equivocate! And she will be heard! Remember Africa!”
Image taken from UNISA
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, dubbed 'The Prof,' was a prominent South African politician, Pan Africanist, lecturer, educator, and lawyer. Sobukwe was a lesser-known and underappreciated political leader during the Apartheid era, but his ideologies and contributions to the struggle against the oppressive system were substantial. Sobukwe was instrumental in steering Africans away from the ANC and establishing the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), for which he served as the organization's first president. Additionally, Sobukwe was instrumental in mobilizing the populace in opposition to the laws' passage on March 21, 1960, which is now recognized as Human Rights Day. Robert Sobukwe was an outspoken advocate for African freedom and a firm believer that education was the most effective weapon black people could use to achieve self-determination. Through his oratorical prowess and commitment to the cause, he inspired thousands to join the anti-apartheid movement.
Early Life
Robert Sobukwe was born on 5 December 1924 in Graaff-Reinet, Cape Province.
Hubert Sobukwe, his father, worked as a municipal laborer and part-time woodcutter, and Angelina Sobukwe, his mother, worked as a domestic worker and cook at a local hospital. Robert was the family's youngest child, with four older brothers and one older sister. Robert received his early education at a mission school in Graaff-Reinet. After completing standard 6, he enrolled in a two-year teachers training course but returned to high school at the Healdtown Institute when he was unsuccessful in obtaining a teaching position.
“The wheel of progress revolves relentlessly and all the nations of the world take their turn at the field-glass of human destiny. Africa will not retreat! Africa will not compromise! Africa will not relent! Africa will not equivocate! And she will be heard! Remember Africa!”
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe
The headmaster, George Caley, assisted Robert financially during his six years at the school, during which he earned his junior certificate and matriculation.
Fort Hare University
After graduating from high school in 1947, Sobukwe enrolled at Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape, where he earned a BA in English, Xhosa, and Native Administration. Prior to Fort Hare, he was uninterested in the country's politics, but studying Native Administration and being exposed to the culture at university sparked his interest in politics and marked the start of an influential career in South African politics. Cecil Ntloko, a follower of the All Africa Convention (ACC) who attended one of Sobukwe's lectures, sparked Sobukwe's newfound interest.
In 1948, Sobukwe and three of his friends founded the daily publication Beware. Non-collaboration, critiques of Native Representative Councils, and Native Advisory Boards were a few of the topics that were discussed in the publication. Additionally, 1948 was the year the National Party came into power and implemented the Apartheid system. In October 1949, Sobukwe was elected the president of Fort Hare’s Student Representative Council, a position that would showcase his oratory skills and establish him as an important figure amongst his peers.
ANC and PAC
During his time at Fort Hare University, Sobukwe experienced his first encounters with the African National Congress (ANC) when he joined the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in 1948. The ANCYL branch in Fort Hare was formed by Godfrey Pitje who was a lecturer in the Department of African Studies. From early days, Sobukwe and his classmates had their reservations about the ANCYL as they felt that the ANC had been compromised by its continuing participation in the township Advisory Boards and Native Representative Council. Sobukwe was appointed National Secretary of the ANCYL by Pitje in December 1949. While Sobukwe was a member of the ANC, he developed an Africanist stance within the party, influenced in large part by Anton Muziwakhe Lembede, the first president of the ANCYL and dubbed the principal architect of South Africa's first fully-fledged ideology of African nationalism.
Sobukwe graduated in 1950 and began teaching at Standerton's Jandrell Secondary School. He was dismissed two years later for advocating for the defiance campaign. Additionally, he served as the Standerton branch's ANC secretary from 1950 to 1954. Sobukwe relocated to Johannesburg in 1954 and accepted a position as a lecturer in African Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, earning him the moniker 'The Prof'.
Sobukwe began speaking out and criticizing the ANC in 1957 when he was appointed editor of The Africanist. He criticized the ANC for allowing itself to be dominated by what he termed 'liberal-left-multiracialists.' He was a fervent Africanist who believed that only black people were capable of self-liberation and that their future was in their hands. This strong conviction ran counter to the ANC's multiracial beliefs. Sobukwe later led an Africanist breakaway from the ANC, establishing the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and serving as its founding president. Sobukwe's eloquence as a public speaker, intelligence, and devotion to his cause quickly established him as a natural leader and assisted him in rallying support for the PAC.
Sharpeville and prison
The PAC announced in December 1959 that they were planning a campaign against the Pass Laws Act of 1952 with the goal of liberating South Africa by 1963. Sobukwe desired a peaceful campaign and even wrote to Commissioner of Police Major General Rademeyer to inform him that the PAC would launch a five-day, non-violent, disciplined, and sustained protest campaign against pass laws on 21 March.
Sobukwe resigned from his position as a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand on the day of the campaign and made arrangements for his family's safety in their Molofo home. Sobukwe walked to the Orlando Police Station with the intention of being arrested, hoping for assistance from others. By the time he arrived in Sharpeville, approximately 5000 marchers had gathered, with many of them arrested, including Sobukwe. At the station, the marchers were met with bullets, resulting in the death of 69 people and the injury of 180 others. This event is referred to as The Sharpeville Massacre.
Sobukwe was sentenced to three years in prison on 4 May 1960 for inciting Africans to demand the abolition of the Pass Laws. Sobukwe would serve three years in prison but would spend an additional six years on Robben Island following the enactment of the Sobukwe Clause, which allowed the Minister of Justice to extend the detention of any political prisoner indefinitely. While on the island, Sobukwe was kept in solitary confinement but allowed access to books, which resulted in him studying most of the time and eventually earning a degree in Economics from the University of London. Sobukwe was offered a job in the United States of America in 1964 by the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and the Montgomery Fellowship for Foreign Aid, but Minister of Justice John Vorster denied his request to leave the country to accept the offer.
Life after prison
In May 1969, Sobukwe was released from prison and banished to live with his family in Galeshewe, Kimberly, under 12-hour surveillance and prohibited from engaging in any political activity. He was occasionally permitted to leave Kimberley for brief periods, as in 1973 to visit his son in hospital and 1975 to attend his mother's funeral, provided he reported to the police station upon arrival and departure. Sobukwe studied law during his house arrest and eventually opened his own law firm in 1975. He became ill shortly after the law firm opened. On 9 September 1977, Sobukwe was granted permission to travel to Johannesburg for medical treatment after being diagnosed with a serious form of lung cancer. After the government purposefully delayed granting Sobukwe the treatment he required and made it more difficult for him to obtain treatment, Sobukwe succumbed to the disease and died on 27 February 1978.
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe was regarded as the voice of change by those who knew him. Today, Sobukwe receives insufficient attention, but his contributions to the struggle against Apartheid and oppression were substantial and influential. The 21st March 1960 was a tragic day in this country's history, but Sobukwe displayed no fear and stood up for what he believed in, and as a result of his efforts that day, we commemorate Human Rights Day on 21 March.
Sobukwe was a firm believer in the phrase "Africa for Africans" and believed that black people were capable of greatness and self-liberation. Thami ka Plaatjie, the PAC's former secretary-general, had the following to say about Sobukwe, “What made Sobukwe who he was the sheer power of his personality, a prodigious personality, everyone he came across melted at his being, towering intellectual par excellence. Colonialist teachers that taught him at Hilltown were all in agreement that there is a student we are not likely to produce in a millennium in our ranks. Sobukwe stood out.”
References
Anton Lembede, the architect of SA’s first ideology of African nationalism (2020). Available at: https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/anton-lembede-the-architect-of-sas- first-ideology-of-african-nationalism-42211280 (Accessed: 29 December 2020).
Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) | South African History Online (2020). Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/pan-africanist-congress-pac (Accessed: 30 December 2020).
Remembering Robert Sobukwe: 23 historical facts to learn about the Africanist struggle icon. | Soweto Urban (2019). Available at: https://sowetourban.co.za/57878/remembering-robert-sobukwe-23-historical-facts- learn-africanist-struggle-icon/ (Accessed: 29 December 2020).
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe (2020). Available at: https://biography.yourdictionary.com/robert-mangaliso-sobukwe (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Timeline 1924 - 1978 | South African History Online (2020). Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/robert-mangaliso-sobukwe- timeline-1924-1978 (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Robert Sobukwe Quote (2020). Available at: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/705891 (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Robert Sobukwe | South African History Online (2020). Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/robert-sobukwe (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Robert Sobukwe Timeline (1948). Available at: https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/robert-sobukwe-timeline (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
Robert Sobukwe 1924 - 1978 (2020). Available at: https://www.graaffreinet.co.za/listing/robert_sobukwe (Accessed: 29 December 2020).
'SA had to be reminded of the strength of Sobukwe's legacy' (2020). Available at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/news/2019-11-17-sa-had-to-be- reminded-of-the-strength-of-sobukwes-legacy/ (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
The legacy of Robert Sobukwe 41 years since his death (2019). Available at: https://www.kayafm.co.za/the-legacy-of-robert-sobukwe-41-years-since-his-death/ (Accessed: 30 December 2020).
10 things you need to know about the Sharpeville Massacre | Review (2019). Available at: https://reviewonline.co.za/257236/10-things-need-know-sharpeville- massacre/ (Accessed: 30 December 2020).
40 years after his death and Sobukwe’s legacy lives (2020). Available at:https://www.ru.ac.za/latestnews/archives/2018/40yearsafterhisdeathandsobukwesleg acylives.html (Accessed: 28 December 2020).
