On the side of Tyume River in the municipality of Alice, some 100km from East London, lies the University of Fort Hare, an institution that is a beacon of hope for African scholars.
It is at Fort Hare that the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013), one of the world’s most respected statesmen, began his post-high school education and where he would later gain an interest in political activism. Until 1960, the university was the only residential centre of higher education for blacks in South Africa and as Mandela once put it, for young black South Africans it was Oxford, Harvard and Yale all rolled into one.
As part of its tribute to Madiba, SAnews paid a visit to the university recently in a bid to track the legend’s early years there.
Founded in 1916 by Scottish missionaries, Fort Hare had only 150 students at the time 21-year-old Mandela enrolled there for a Bachelor of Arts degree. It was at Fort Hare that Mandela met African National Congress stalwart Oliver Tambo, who would later introduce him to politics and military training.
He stayed at Wesley House, a double storey building situated on the edge of the campus and attended church services at nearby Loveday.
While a lot has changed since the Mandela years, the university is still the epitome of African intelligentsia, its rich history attracting young students from all over the continent.
For someone who just wanted a qualification as a court interpreter, Mandela’s troubles with university authorities would soon follow.
“He became a troublemaker and everyone who knew him when he arrived there was taken by surprise and as a result, he ended up leaving the university. Of course he had his side of the story as to why he left,” said Mark Snyders, archivist and head of the University’s National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre.
Mandela gave several reasons for leaving Fort Hare, one of them being a dispute over Student Representative Council elections that led to a heated confrontation with university principal, Dr Alexander Kerr.
Both he and Oliver Tambo were eventually expelled in 1940 for political activism. Upon returning to his home village of Mqekezweni, he discovered that his guardian, Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo had arranged a marriage for him. He fled towards Johannesburg, where he obtained work as a night-watchman on a gold mine.
According to Snyders, hope was revived for the young Mandela when he was offered another chance to complete his degree by correspondence. In 1943, he graduated with a BA in Native Administration and Politics.
While Mandela may have been expelled, his presence at the university left a huge legacy for Fort Hare, which now prides itself on producing some of the great minds in African politics. From the 1920s to the late 1950s, the university provided Africans from South Africa and beyond rare opportunities to gain credible higher education qualifications.
PAC founder Robert Sobukwe, Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Govan Mbeki and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe are among the rich list of the university’s alumni.
Even current students cannot hide the pride associated with Fort Hare, more than half a century since the Mandelas and Tambos had left campus.
“It is such an honour and a great feeling to study in a university that has produced many of these great leaders as Mandela. It feels like we are following in their footsteps,” said law student Asangezwa Madliwa.
For him the university is not just an institution of higher learning, but an important place that had contributed immensely to the struggle for freedom in South Africa. – Chris Bathembu, SAnews.gov.za
Alan Straton
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