Dr Walter Rubusana, ca. 1914 in London (photo source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter)
One of the founding members of the African National Congress (ANC) Walter Benson Rubusana was born on 21 February 1885. He was one of the most prominent Africans of his time. He gained merit in the fields of religion, literature, and politics. Throughout his career he championed the cause of racial equality and argued for the extension of the rights of Cape Africans to Africans in the rest of South Africa.
As head of the Cape-based South African Native Congress, he was among the founding members of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC; later African National Congress) in 1912. In 1914, Rubusana led a deputation to London to protest against the infamous Native Land Act of 1913.
In Mangaung’s Batho township a street in a section known as “Sports” is named Rubusana. His one of the prominent figure in the history of Batho.
Rubusana was not only a gifted intellectual with many talents, but also a political activist who put his intellectual abilities to the service of his people. He never tired of helping his people overcome the barriers of racial oppression and lack of education. 19 April 1936 Rubusana died at Frere Hospital in East London at the age of 78.
Text: Khotso Pudumo
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