Zaccheus Richard Mahabane (15 August 1881 – September 1971) was a South African politician. He was the President of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

from 1924 to 1927 and again from 1937 to 1940. He was also a Methodist pastor.

Early life

Richard Zaccheus Mahabane was born in the town of

Thaba Nchu Thaba 'Nchu is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established ...

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

and his parents were farmers. After his primary school education at a local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Mission School in

, he attended the Morija Mission Institute in

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), th ...

now,

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

which was the homeland of his father, an establishment of the Paris Evangelical Mission. In 1901 at the age of twenty, he qualified as a teacher there, he then later gave up teaching to become a court interpreter in a career that lasted until 1908. Later during 1908 he began theological training at the Lessyton Theological School near Queenstown. He was ordained as a

minister in 1914. He was first sent to Bensonvale Parish and later

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Personal life

Mahabane was married to Harriet Mantoro, they went on to have three daughters and two sons. Harriet was President of the National Council of African Women of

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

in 1936. He died at Kroonstad, Free State, in September 1971.

Political life

Reverend Mahabane went to

in 1916, where he joined the South African National Native Congress (Cape Branch), and was elected as local President in 1919 at age 38. Along with the Coloured leader Dr A. Abdurahman, he organised the Non-European Unity Conferences between 1927 and 1934 where

Africans African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

Coloureds Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

and

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

discussed their common grievances and ideals. He was elected the President of the

from 1924 to 1927, he was opposed to communism and hence opposed J.T. Gumede. In 1925 he was also elected as the Vice President of the Cape Native Voters’ Convention. He traveled to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 1926 in connection with the ANC, and in 1927 and 1937 for missionary conferences. In the middle of 1927 the Church sent Reverend Mahabane and his wife to

Kimberly Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a c ...

where they remained until their departure in January 1937. While in

he had also been the Secretary of the African Christian Minister's Association of the Diamond Fields. In the year of 1937 when he was elected President of the ANC for his second term, he left Kimberley for Winburg in the Free State. Mahabane was a member of the 1936

All-African Convention The All-African Convention conference took place from 15–18 December 1935. Notable figures who attended the delegation included Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, JL Dube, Zacharias Richard Mahabane, Alfred Bitini Xuma, James Moro ...

delegation that conferred with Prime Minister

J. B. M. Hertzog General James Barry Munnik Hertzog (3 April 1866 – 21 November 1942), better known as Barry Hertzog or J. B. M. Hertzog, was a South African politician and soldier. He was a Boer general during the Second Boer War who served ...

prior to the submission of the separate-roll compromise to Parliament. Mahabane and

ZK Matthews Zachariah Keodirelang "ZK" Matthews (20 October 1901 – 11 May 1968) was a prominent black academic in South Africa, lecturing at South African Native College (renamed University of Fort Hare in 1955), where many future leaders of the African ...

were elected to the executive, Mahabane becoming Vice president in 1937. Mahabane acted as vice-president of the AAC, and from 1940 to 1954 he served as the AAC's official vice-president. When his term as ANC President ended in 1940 he became the official Chaplain to the ANC and was elected as a Lifelong Honorary President of the ANC in 1943. During the 1940s he concentrated more on the AAC, and on the Non-European Unity Movement, of which he became President at its foundation in 1945, remaining in that position until 1956 when he resigned. In the 1940s he concentrated on religious organizations, this included the Inter-Denominational African Minister's Federation that was founded in 1945. He became its President in 1963.

Original Writings

*In 1923 he wrote his debut book entitled: “The Colour Bar in South Africa”. *Prior to his death, he wrote another which would be his last entitled: “The Good Fight: Selected Speeches of Rev. Zacchaeus R. Mahabane”, under his name, but edited by G. M. Carter and S. W. Johns, of Evanston: Northwestern University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahabane, Zacharias Richard 1881 births 1971 deaths African National Congress politicians Presidents of the African National Congress South African Methodists Members of the Order of Luthuli