Speaker at the Robert Sobukwe lecture Professor Simphiwe Sesante. And from left, Thomas Terblanche, Professors Sesante and Ntsikelelo Breakfast and Mieke Kotze.
The seminar, addressed by Professor Simphiwe Sesante was hosted by the Department of History and Politics, within the Faculty of Humanities, to explore Sobukwe’s educational legacy,
Nearly five decades after the death of Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe, one of South Africa’s most influential anti-apartheid leaders, the nation and continent continue to reflect on and reimagine the enduring legacy of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) founder.
While much attention has been devoted to Sobukwe’s role as PAC’s first president, less focus has been placed on his philosophical contributions, particularly his vision for Africanising and Decolonising education.
In his keynote address, Prof Sesante highlighted that since African nations began gaining independence in the 1950s, African scholars have grappled with the question of what an African university should look like.
Reflecting on Sobukwe’s speech from 1949, when he was president of the University of Fort Hare’s Student Representative Council, Prof Sesante explained Sobukwe’s critique of the University of Fort Hare’s Eurocentric framework. Sobukwe argued that Fore Hare, despite being an African institution, was dominated by Western modes of thinking.
Instead, Sobukwe called for an African university that would serve as a hub of African thought and culture. He wanted the University to become a centre for African studies, open to students from all over the continent, and to be fully dedicated to serving the needs of African people.
“The creation of an African university, as envisioned by Sobukwe, means acknowledging a past that needs correction and avoiding the present danger of idolising European universities,” said Prof Sesante.
The ideals that Sobukwe championed were not isolated. They were shared by other African leaders, such as Nigeria’s Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, as well as global thinkers like Marcus Garvey and Frantz Fanon.
Domestically, Prof Sesante pointed out that Sobukwe’s vision resonated with the calls for decolonisation made by Prof Malegapuru Makgoba in 1995, during his time as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Wits University.
Prof Makgoba’s brave clarion call led him being forced to leave Wits, but later gave life to the fallist movements, led by South African students in 2015.
Prof Sesante said Sobukwe’s vision of having African students studying in another African university has been achieved, but the reason for doing so – black consciousness – has not. A message, which he relayed in his masterclass, which preceded the seminar.
“Some Africans regard fellow Africans coming from other African countries as invasive foreigners deserving to be ill-treated, deported, or killed”, he said.
The seminar provided an opportunity for students, staff, and PAC members to reflect on Sobukwe’s relevance in today’s context. Prof Sesante concluded by emphasising Sobukwe’s timeless importance: “Sobukwe was not merely opposed to the status quo; he proposed a future vision. While his life was rooted in the past, his ideas were forward-looking”.
Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast, Head of the History and Politics Department, explained that the seminar aimed to illuminate the lesser-known aspects of Sobukwe’s life and intellectual contributions to the liberation discourse.
“By tracing the intellectual and philosophical legacy of Africanising the university, we gain invaluable insights that contextualise our work at the University,” said Mieke Kotze, the seminar facilitator.
The seminar, which focused on Sobukwe’s vision for an African university, was fittingly hosted by Mandela University, an institution that aspires to be a dynamic university, recognised for its leadership in generating innovative knowledge for a sustainable future.