Quick Facts
- Born:
- Dec. 5, 1924, Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony
- Died:
- Feb. 27, 1978, Kimberley, S.Af. (aged 53)
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Robert Sobukwe
South African black nationalist leader
Also known as: Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe
Robert Sobukwe (born Dec. 5, 1924, Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony—died Feb. 27, 1978, Kimberley, S.Af.) was a South African black nationalist leader. Sobukwe insisted that South Africa be returned to its indigenous inhabitants (“Africa for the Africans”). Charging the African National Congress with being contaminated by non-African influences, he founded the Pan-Africanist Congress in 1959 and became a leader in the Pan-African movement. Arrested in 1960, he spent the rest of his life in prison or under house arrest.
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