Robert Sobukwe’s political consciousness was deeply shaped during his time at Fort Hare University, particularly in 1948, the same year that the apartheid government under DF Malan came to power. It was during his second-year course on Native Administration, which covered the many laws governing the lives of Black South Africans, that Sobukwe’s eyes were opened to the systemic inequalities of apartheid. His lecturer, Cecil Ntloko, was an intelligent and opinionated figure who made Sobukwe realize the harsh realities of life for Black South Africans under the regime.
In 1949, the year Sobukwe completed his studies at Fort Hare, he was elected president of the Students’ Representative Council. During this time, he also joined the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), which had been founded five years earlier by Nelson Mandela and others as an offshoot of the ANC. Despite this affiliation, Sobukwe’s views were evolving, and by the end of his university tenure, he was already calling for a future where Black South Africans would forge their own path toward freedom and unity.
At his farewell speech at Fort Hare, Sobukwe urged his peers to confront uncomfortable truths, saying, “People do not like to see the even tenor of their lives disturbed … But I make no apologies. It is meant that we speak the truth before we die.” His rhetoric, unlike the more conciliatory tone of Mandela’s speeches, was a powerful call for African liberation and unity. Sobukwe expressed pride in African heritage and a desire to see the African continent liberated from colonialism and oppression, stating, “We are pro-Africa. We breathe, we live, we dream Africa; because Africa and humanity are inseparable.”
However, Sobukwe’s anti-colonial and pan-Africanist message did not sit well with everyone. His speech was seen as anti-white, and when it was brought to the attention of George Caley, the headmaster of Healdtown, where Sobukwe had once been a student, it was described as a “dreadful shock.” This ideological shift meant Sobukwe could no longer return to Healdtown as a teacher, and instead, he took a teaching position at a secondary school in Standerton.
While in Standerton, Sobukwe became more involved in political organizing, and though his ties with the ANC weakened somewhat, his move to Johannesburg in 1954, where he began teaching Zulu and Xhosa at the University of the Witwatersrand, reignited his political activism. It was in Johannesburg, the epicenter of the anti-apartheid struggle, that Sobukwe’s views would take a more defined shape.
Sobukwe became part of a faction within the ANC known as the “Africanists.” The Africanists were strongly opposed to communism and to the ANC’s collaboration with other racial groups. They believed that the struggle for South Africa’s future should be “for Africans, by Africans,” rejecting the notion of a multiracial struggle. This ideological divide became apparent when the ANC, in 1955, signed the Freedom Charter, which declared that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.” The Africanists, including Sobukwe, found this multiracial stance unacceptable.
This disagreement eventually led to a split within the ANC in 1958, when Sobukwe and around 100 other Africanists broke away to form the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1959. Sobukwe was unanimously elected leader of the new party, and in his inaugural address, he clarified the PAC’s stance: it was a party of Africans for Africans, emphasizing a loyalty to Africa above all else. He explained, “We aim, politically, at government of the Africans by the Africans, for the Africans,” and encouraged anyone who owed loyalty to Africa to join their cause. He also famously stated, “There is only one race to which we all belong, and that is the human race,” reiterating the PAC’s inclusivity based on African identity.
While Sobukwe’s views were seen as radical by some, including his former ANC comrades like Nelson Mandela, his leadership and vision for African self-determination made him a pivotal figure in the anti-apartheid struggle. His commitment to an independent and united Africa would guide his actions in the years that followed, cementing his place in history as one of South Africa’s most influential freedom fighters.