FEBRUARY 27 marked the passing of epoch-making anti-apartheid revolutionary and founder of the Pan- Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe.
Affectionately called “Prof”, Sobukwe was not only a central figure in the South African liberation movement, but he was also a steadfast proponent of Pan-Africanism, and strongly believed in the commonality and unification of African people across the continent and diaspora.
Born in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, Sobukwe was an educator by profession. In his formative years, Sobukwe was greatly influenced by the teachings of Anton Lembede, Kwame Nkrumah and Marcus Garvey, to name a few.
He attended the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in 1947, where his interest in politics was piqued. At the time, UFH was a highly diverse mecca of black students from the length and breadth of our nation, Sub-Saharan Africa and the continent at large, engrossed in the turbulent politics of the time.
During his time at the UFH, in 1948, Sobukwe launched a
