Thomas Nkobi
Encyclopedia
Thomas Titus Nkobi was a senior leader of the South African African National Congress (ANC)
and a key figure in the Anti-Apartheid movement. Until his death he was the Treasurer General of the ANC and also its Member of Parliament.
, Matabeleland South
, Southern Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe
). He grew up and was educated in South Africa, where his father was working in the mines as a migrant laborer. He was at Adams College of Education in KwaZulu Natal with Joshua Nkomo
, the Zimbabwean Vice President and Bernard Chidzero
, the Zimbabwean Minister of Finance and Dr. Ntsu Mokhehle
, the Prime Minister of Lesotho
. After completing High School in Natal he matriculated from Bantu High School (later Madibane High School) in Western Township, Johannesburg in 1946 and went to Roma College (now National University of Lesotho)
in Lesotho
, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce
degree.
His initial political involvement against the Apartheid regime
started in 1944 during the Alexandra
bus boycott, a non-violent protest campaign. In 1950 he formally joined the ANC
and played a leading role in the 1952 ANC Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws
. He was one of the main volunteers who traveled from village to village collecting demands of the African population that were incorporated into the ANC Freedom Charter
; he attended the 1955 Congress of the People
in Kliptown
that drew up the Freedom Charter as a delegate from Alexandra.
In 1957 Thomas Nkobi shot to prominence when he chaired the Second Alexandra Peoples Transport Committee which was co-ordinating a bus boycott in the Johannesburg and Pretoria
townships
following a 25 per cent increase in bus fares. In the same year he was arrested for participating in the nation-wide Potato Boycott, following The Farm Labour Scandal, a journalistic investigation by Ruth First
and Joe Gqabi, which uncovered that Africans arrested for infringement of the pass laws
were coerced into enforced labor on potato farms. In 1958 Thomas Nkobi became the National Organizer of the ANC and was charged with the task of implementing the M-Plan, an action plan, named after Nelson Mandela
, to decentralize the ANCs organizational branches and communication channels in order to avoid public meetings and announcements and increase effectiveness of their political and social campaign.
During the 1960 State of Emergency
, he was amongst the thousands of political activists who were detained. After his release he continued working for the ANC as National Organizer and was also prominent in the underground. He was banned in 1961, and in 1962 placed under a 24 hour house arrest. In 1963 Thomas Nkobi fled South Africa for exile in Dar es Salaam
/ Tanzania
and later Lusaka
/ Zambia
, where he became actively involved in mobilizing international public opinion against the Apartheid regime.
From 1968 to 1973 he served as deputy to then Treasurer General
of the ANC, Moses Kotane
. He was elected Treasurer General of the ANC in 1973, a post to which he was re-elected at all subsequent national conferences of the organization.
After the ANC was in legalized in 1990 he returned to South Africa. There he oversaw the ANCs budget for South Africa's first democratic election, which brought the ANC to power. Thomas Nkobi was re-elected as Treasurer General in party elections in 1991 and also elected as Member of Parliament, member of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) and member of the ANC's National Working Committee (NWC); one of several elders with moderate views who retained leadership positions.
He died on 25 September 1994, in Johannesburg after suffering a fatal stroke. He is buried at Heroes' Acre in Soweto, a section of Soweto's Avalon Cemetery reserved as final resting place for many Anti-Apartheid activists.
In 2004, Thomas Nkobi posthumously received the Order of Luthuli in Gold
for his "exceptional and selfless contribution to the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist, free and democratic South Africa".
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
and a key figure in the Anti-Apartheid movement. Until his death he was the Treasurer General of the ANC and also its Member of Parliament.
Life
Thomas Titus Nkobi ("Comrade T.G.") was born on 22 October 1922 in PlumtreePlumtree, Zimbabwe
Plumtree, Zimbabwe is a town in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe, close to the border to Botswana. It is the local administrative centre. It sits at an altitude of 1280 metres on the watershed between the Limpopo river and the Nata river that drains into Okavango to the north. The annual rainfall is...
, Matabeleland South
Matabeleland South
Matabeleland South is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 54,172 km² and a population of approximately 650,000 . Gwanda is the capital of the province.-Geography:...
, Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
). He grew up and was educated in South Africa, where his father was working in the mines as a migrant laborer. He was at Adams College of Education in KwaZulu Natal with Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was the leader and founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union and a member of the Kalanga tribe...
, the Zimbabwean Vice President and Bernard Chidzero
Bernard Chidzero
Bernard Thomas Gibson Chidzero was a Zimbabwean economist, politician, and writer. He served as the independent Zimbabwe's second finance minister.-Early life and education:...
, the Zimbabwean Minister of Finance and Dr. Ntsu Mokhehle
Ntsu Mokhehle
Ntsu Mokhehle was a Lesotho politician. He served as Prime Minister of the country from 2 April 1993 to 17 August 1994 and from 14 September 1994 to 29 May 1998.Mokhehle was born in Teyateyaneng...
, the Prime Minister of Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
. After completing High School in Natal he matriculated from Bantu High School (later Madibane High School) in Western Township, Johannesburg in 1946 and went to Roma College (now National University of Lesotho)
National University of Lesotho
The National University of Lesotho is situated at Roma some 34 kilometers southeast of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The Roma valley is broad and is surrounded by a barrier of rugged mountains which provides magnificent scenery. The University enjoys a temperate climate with four distinctive...
in Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...
degree.
His initial political involvement against the Apartheid regime
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
started in 1944 during the Alexandra
Alexandra, Gauteng
Alexandra or Alex for short, nicknamed Gomora is a township located in Gauteng province, South Africa. It is part of Johannesburg, close to the wealthy suburb of Sandton and is bounded by Wynberg on the west, Marlboro and Kelvin on the north, Kew, Lombardy West and Lombardy East on the south...
bus boycott, a non-violent protest campaign. In 1950 he formally joined the ANC
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
and played a leading role in the 1952 ANC Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws
Defiance Campaign
The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951....
. He was one of the main volunteers who traveled from village to village collecting demands of the African population that were incorporated into the ANC Freedom Charter
Freedom Charter
The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress and its allies - the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress...
; he attended the 1955 Congress of the People
Congress of the People
The Congress of the People met in Kliptown, Soweto, Johannesburg on June 26, 1955 to lay out the vision of the South African people. The Freedom Charter was the core statement of principles of the Congress Alliance, consisting of the African National Congress , the South African Indian Congress,...
in Kliptown
Kliptown
Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. The population of Kliptown is between 38,000 and 45,000 . Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which...
that drew up the Freedom Charter as a delegate from Alexandra.
In 1957 Thomas Nkobi shot to prominence when he chaired the Second Alexandra Peoples Transport Committee which was co-ordinating a bus boycott in the Johannesburg and Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
townships
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
following a 25 per cent increase in bus fares. In the same year he was arrested for participating in the nation-wide Potato Boycott, following The Farm Labour Scandal, a journalistic investigation by Ruth First
Ruth First
Ruth First was a white South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar born in Johannesburg, South Africa...
and Joe Gqabi, which uncovered that Africans arrested for infringement of the pass laws
Pass laws
Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and limit severely the movements of the non-white populace. This legislation was one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system. The Black population were required to carry these pass books with them when outside...
were coerced into enforced labor on potato farms. In 1958 Thomas Nkobi became the National Organizer of the ANC and was charged with the task of implementing the M-Plan, an action plan, named after Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, to decentralize the ANCs organizational branches and communication channels in order to avoid public meetings and announcements and increase effectiveness of their political and social campaign.
During the 1960 State of Emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
, he was amongst the thousands of political activists who were detained. After his release he continued working for the ANC as National Organizer and was also prominent in the underground. He was banned in 1961, and in 1962 placed under a 24 hour house arrest. In 1963 Thomas Nkobi fled South Africa for exile in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
/ Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and later Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
/ Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, where he became actively involved in mobilizing international public opinion against the Apartheid regime.
From 1968 to 1973 he served as deputy to then Treasurer General
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of the ANC, Moses Kotane
Moses Kotane
Moses Mauane Kotane was a South African politician and activist. Kotane was secretary general of the South African Communist Party from 1939 until his death in 1978.-Early life:...
. He was elected Treasurer General of the ANC in 1973, a post to which he was re-elected at all subsequent national conferences of the organization.
After the ANC was in legalized in 1990 he returned to South Africa. There he oversaw the ANCs budget for South Africa's first democratic election, which brought the ANC to power. Thomas Nkobi was re-elected as Treasurer General in party elections in 1991 and also elected as Member of Parliament, member of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) and member of the ANC's National Working Committee (NWC); one of several elders with moderate views who retained leadership positions.
He died on 25 September 1994, in Johannesburg after suffering a fatal stroke. He is buried at Heroes' Acre in Soweto, a section of Soweto's Avalon Cemetery reserved as final resting place for many Anti-Apartheid activists.
In 2004, Thomas Nkobi posthumously received the Order of Luthuli in Gold
Order of Luthuli
The Order of Luthuli is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003, and is granted by the president of South Africa, for contributions to South Africa in the following fields: the struggle for democracy, building democracy and human rights, nation-building, justice and...
for his "exceptional and selfless contribution to the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist, free and democratic South Africa".
Films
- Hold up the Sun: The ANC and Popular Power in the Making. - Ulibambe lingashoni. / Episode 3 Interview with Thomas Nkobi. The Documentary History of the ANC: episode 1. Roots of struggle, [1912-1948] (52 min.). Episode 2. Enter the masses, [1949-1958] (52 min.). Episode 3. Submit or fight, [1958-1969] (52 min.). Episode 4. The new generation, [1968-1983] (52 min.). Episode 5. Not the kings and generals, [1983-1990] (52 min.). (English) Publisher: Ster-Kinekor Video. Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 1993.