The Presidential Years

Teacher, anti-apartheid activist and minister of religion. Chief of Groutville Reserve. President general of the ANC, 1952–67. From 1953 he was confined to his home by government bans. Defendant in the 1956 Treason Trial. Sentenced to six months (suspended) in 1960 after publicly burning his passbook and calling for a national day of mourning following the Sharpeville Massacre. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for his non-violent role in the struggle against apartheid. Awarded the ANC’s highest honour, Isitwalandwe Seaparankoe, in 1955 at the Congress of the People.