It is 25 years since Robert Sobukwe died. To mark the anniversary of his death and celebrate his life, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Steve Biko Foundation will honour this great leader this evening.

It is fitting that the University should use this occasion to break with tradition and, for the first time, accord its highest honour, Doctor of Laws honoris causa, posthumously to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, in recognition of his singular and significant contribution to South Africa.

The ceremony will take place at the Wits Humanities Graduation in the Wits Great Hall on Tuesday, 20 May at 18:00. Mr Justice Dikgang Moseneke will deliver the keynote address.

Sobukwe was the founder and first president of the Pan African Congrees (PAC). The ultimate non-racist, Sobukwe argued forcefully that there was only one race – the human race. A deeply spiritual man, secure and rooted in his own identity, he reached out and created enduring friendships with people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

"Sobukwe's distinctive role in the liberation struggle was cherished by many. He laid the basis for the black consciousness movement. He is one of the founding fathers of African nationalism and African identity. His ideas shaped all our identities," says Executive Director of the Steve Biko Foundation, Dr Xolela Mangcu.

Sobukwe was employed as a language instructor at Wits before 1959, where he continued with his studies and achieved an honours degree in languages. He was asked to represent the university at a conference on African writers, and although Wits would not accord him the title of lecturer, which was reserved for white academics, the University did resist government attempts to have him removed because of his political activities.

However, Sobukwe increasingly felt constrained by his job and, in a letter dated 21 March 1960, a date the world would come to remember as the day of the Sharpeville massacre, Sobukwe tendered his resignation, writing that ‘circumstances have arisen which make it necessary, in the interest of the university that I resign, and that my resignation take effect from the earliest date the university may decide.’ Ever courteous, he added: ‘I wish to thank you for the attitude you adopted in refusing, in the face of terrific pressure, to interest yourself and the university in my political life’.

Nkosinathi Biko from the Steve Biko Foundation says, "Sobukwe was critical in redefining how we view ourselves as a nation. That contribution was not buried with him but continues to be part of our identity as a nation. That contribution is even more important as we begin finally, to respond to his call to think of ourselves as part of a bigger nation, the nation of Africa. So late as it is, if ever there was a time for Sobukwe to speak to us there could be no better time."

According to his citation, "Robert Sobukwe’s call for a Pan African identity has been resurrected in this new century in the concept of an African renaissance. Through processes such as the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), African leaders are attempting to give practical substance to his vision.

We live in an Africa that faces huge challenges – xenophobia, racism, ethnicity and tribalism, dictatorship, corruption, poverty, disease, war, famine and a paralysing timidity and resistance to the general processes of transformation.

In meeting these challenges African leaders in every field in every country would do well to remember Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe’s call to his fellow Africans: ‘We must be the embodiment of our peoples’ aspirations’. What better embodiment could there be of the best of Africa’s aspirations than Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe?"

BIOGRAPHY - ROBERT MANGALISO SOBUKWE

Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the youngest of seven children of Hubert and Angelina Sobukwe, was born on 5 December 1924 in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern<