Pixley ka Isaka Seme: African unity against racism

Abstract

An architect of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) " later the African National Congress " and an advocate of non-tribal, non-nationalist unity amongst Africans, Pixley ka Isaka Seme worked tirelessly to protect the right of Africans to their lands. He advised the leaders of the neighbouring British protectorates, Swaziland (Eswatini), Basutoland (Lesotho) and Bechuanaland (Botswana), on how to protect their sovereignty while negotiating independence from Britain. In 1912 he was voted the founding treasurer general of the SANNC and, in the same year, he founded the national newspaper Abantu-Batho, which functioned as the congress voice for several years.