Anton Lembede

Anton Muziwakhe Lembede OLG (21 March 1914 – 30 July 1947) was a South African activist and founding president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL).

He has been described as "the principal architect of South Africa's first full-fledged ideology of African nationalism."

Lembede had a strong influence on Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.

Anton Muziwakhe Lembede was born on 21 January 1914 on the farm of Frank Fell in Eston near Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

Anton was the eldest of seven children born to Mbazwana Martin and Martha Nora MaLuthuli Lembede.

His father Mbazwana Martin was a farm labourer and his mother was a teacher.

Anton was home-schooled by his mother, who taught him to read and write until grade four level.

He was given the name "Anton" by a priest at Eston.

It was only when Anton turned 13 that he started his formal education at the Catholic Inkanyezi School.

In 1933, Lembede enrolled at Adams College, which at the time, was one of the more prestigious "native" schools.

The school saw students coming from central Africa to enrol.

Lembede enrolled for the "Native Teachers Higher Primary Certificate".

As a student he was noted for dedication, his brilliance with languages and his family's obvious poverty.

The latter resulted in him being avoided by other students.

Lembede's views at the time were more practical than political and he wrote about the need for education and self-reliance.

This reflects the traditional view of his school that had been created by John Dube after hearing the ideas of the American Booker Washington.

In 1936 after graduation by Adams College, he not only took up teaching posts but he also pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in his spare time.

Lembede majored in Philosophy and Roman Law.

Lembede then enrolled at the University of South Africa for a law degree and completed it in 1942.

Lembede finally registered for a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy in 1943.

In 1944 he attended the wedding of Walter and Albertina Sisulu.

Also present was Nelson Mandela and Evelyn Mase.

Lembede lived in Orlando in Johannesburg with his intellectual partner A.P. Mda, whom he had met when they were both aspiring teachers.

He and Mda would spend their free time holding debating games which stood them in both stead.

Lembede read widely and he would quote fascist leaders until Mda pointed out the racist policies that they espoused.

Lembede was the principal thinker behind launching the African National Congress Youth League.

So in 1943 he led Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Jordan Ngubane, Ellen Kuzwayo, Albertina Sisulu, Lembede's friend A.P. Mda, Dan Tloome, and David Bopape to become the first elected general president of the ANC Youth League on 10 September 1944.

The league wanted to reform the ANC, which they described as "a body of gentlemen with clean hands".

Lembede spent a lot of his time creating the organisation's Manifesto whilst also being elected to be the ANC's secretary in the Transvaal.

The following year Lembede, Tambo and Sisulu went on the attack to defend their ideas of African nationalism and they almost succeeded in getting the communists thrown out of the congress in the Transvaal.

Possibly as a result both the ANC's National Executive seconded him to help them.

His 1945 thesis was entitled "The Conception of God as Expounded by, or as it Emerges from the Writings of Philosophers- from Descartes to the Present Day".

Lembede moved to Johannesburg after finishing his L.L.B and completed his articles at Pixley ka Isaka Seme's law firm.

Seme had first proposed the idea of the ANC and he had been an unimpressive president of the organisation.

Seme no longer enjoyed the success of his early career and he looked to Lembede to take over his firm when he retired.

Seme briefly practised law for a while.

During this time he regularly met with Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo (who went on to establish their black South African law firm), discussing how they must win their freedom.

He died in 1947, aged 33.

Lembede died suddenly in 1947.

Lembede was regarded as the progenitor of the "Programme of Action" that was adopted as a guiding document by the 1949 meeting of the African National Congress.