Walter Sisulu

Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was born on 18 May 1912 in the village of Ngcobo in the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape. He was raised by his mother and uncle in the Xhosa tradition. He received his early education at a local mission school before leaving home at fifteen to seek work in Johannesburg.

In Johannesburg, Sisulu held a series of manual jobs. In 1940, he joined the African National Congress (ANC), and his organisational skills and unshakeable integrity quickly set him apart. In 1944, together with Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Anton Lembede, Sisulu co-founded the ANC Youth League. In 1949, he was elected ANC Secretary-General and was instrumental in organising the Defiance Campaign of 1952, the largest nonviolent resistance campaign in South African history.

Sisulu's activism led to his arrest in the Rivonia Trial of 1964. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Robben Island. For twenty-six years, he remained on the island, serving as a mentor to younger prisoners. His cell was near Mandela's, and the two men developed a relationship of deep mutual respect.

Released in 1989, Sisulu immediately returned to political life. He refused high office, choosing instead to serve as Deputy President of the ANC and as a moral compass for the new democratic government. His humility was legendary; he lived in a modest house in Soweto until his death. Walter Sisulu passed away on 5 May 2003 at the age of ninety and was buried at Croesus Cemetery in Soweto.