Mr Robert Sobukwe

Mr Robert Sobukwe

During the #FeesMustFall protest in 2016, the protesters spray painted some of the struggle icons on the trees on the Bloemfontein campus and the one that I was interested in learning more about and thought people should learn more about is Mr Sobukwe.

Robert “Mangaliso” Sobukwe was born on the 5^th of December 1924 in Graaff- Reinet in the Eastern Cape.  He is the youngest of 5 boys and 1 girl; his parents are Hubert and Angelina Sobukwe.  Robert enrolled for a Primary Teacher’s Training Course for two years just after completing Standard 6 at a mission school in Graaff- Reinet, he later went back to high school at Healdtown Institute after not being given the teaching post. He studied financial assistance for 6 years; sadly his schooling was interrupted when he went to hospital suffering from TB in 1943.

Sobukwe received a bursary from the Department of Education, which enrolled him for tertiary education at Fort Hare in 1947. His interest for Politics was sparked at Fort Hare and he became more politically active, in 1948 Robert joined the ANCYL, which was established in the university campus by a lecturer in the Department of African studies; Godfrey Pitie. Being politically active proved to be effective because a year later he was elected as president Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of Fort Hare, which also landed him the position of being the National Secretary of the ANCYL. During that same year he met Veronica Mathe, who was a nurse in training in Alice Hospital; the couple got married in 1950. Sobukwe moved to Johannesburg and became a lecturer in African Studies at Wits University, where he earned “the Prof” as a nickname.

“Politically Sobukwe was strongly Africanist, believing that the future of South Africa should be in the hands of Black South Africans”(). 1958 was the birth of Pan African congress, which he started and was its President because of his feelings towards the multiracial path, the ANC was taking. The  PAC held a peaceful an anti-pass march campaign on the 21^st of March 1960 but most of the marchers were arrested , including “the Prof” and 69 people were killed & 180 others got injured resulting in what we call today as the Sharpeville Massacre. On the 4^th of May 1960 Sobukwe was sentenced to 3 years in Prison and was later moved Robin Island, he spent most of his time studying while being kept isolated from other prisoners. His studying paid off as he got Economic degree from the University of London. 1969 he got released from prison but was under house arrest and prohibited from any political activity and leaving the country. He was also supposed ask for permission to attending any family gatherings, even his mothers’ funeral in 1975. This made it difficult for get treatment when he fell ill and diagnosed with lung cancer in 1977 and sadly he died on 27^th of February 1978 from lung complication at Kimberly General Hospital. Today he is a celebrated Political icon in the struggle for a democratic South Africa .

 I think today’s generation can learn a lot from the late Robert Sobukwe, the first thing they can learn is that he loved education, judging from the qualifications he had. He is someone who believed that education does not have an age, race and gender limit; that education is something that you can acquire and no one will take it away from you. Robert is someone who proved the phrase that “you can achieve anything you set your mind to”, by not letting the apartheid regime system limit him and take away his voice and hunger for freedom. The second thing the new generation can learn from him is his love for politics, because when you are politically involved you get updated about what is happening in the country and know your purpose and how you can help change things in the country little by little. The third thing they can learn from him is that he fought for what is right and what he believed in, even if leaving something and starting your own all alone.