University of Fort Hare Alumini
The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for black Africans from 1916 to 1959. It offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub-Saharan Africa, creating a black African elite. Fort Hare alumni were part of many subsequent independence movements and governments of newly independent African countries.
In 1959, the university was subsumed by the apartheid system, but it is now part of South Africa’s post-apartheid public higher education system. It is known for its notable alumni, which include several heads of state and Nobel prize winners.
In 1959, the university was subsumed by the apartheid system, but it is now part of South Africa’s post-apartheid public higher education system. It is known for its notable alumni, which include several heads of state and Nobel prize winners.
Notable Alumni:
| Name | DoB – DoD | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Z. K. Matthews | 1901 – 1968 | Lectured at Fort Hare from 1936 to 1959 |
| Archibald Campbell Jordan | 30 October 1906–1968 | Novelist, pioneer of African studies |
| Govan Mbeki | 9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001 | South African politician |
| Yusuf Lule | 1912 – 21 January 1985 | Interim president of Uganda 1979 |
| Cedric Phatudi | 27 May 1912 – 7 October 1987 | Former Chief Minister of Lebowa 1972–1987 |
| Kaiser Matanzima | 15 June 1915 – 15 June 2003 | President of bantustan Transkei |
| Mary Malahlela | 2 May 1916 – 8 May 1981 | First female black doctor in South Africa |
| Oliver Tambo | 27 October 1917 – 24 April 1993 | African National Congress activist, expelled while doing his second degree |
| Nelson Mandela | 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013 | Former President of South Africa; expelled and later attended the University of the Witwatersrand but did not graduate |
| Lionel Ngakane | 17 July 1920 – 26 November 2003 | South African film maker |
| Seretse Khama | 1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980 | First President of Botswana |
| Julius Nyerere | 19 July 1922 – 14 October 1999 | First President of Tanzania |
| Herbert Chitepo | 15 June 1923 – 18 March 1975 | ZANU leader |
| Robert Sobukwe | 1924 – 27 February 1978 | Founder of the Pan Africanist Congress |
| Robert Mugabe | 21 February 1924 – | Former President of Zimbabwe, attended 1949–1951 |
| Kenneth Kaunda | 28 April 1924 – | First President of Zambia |
| Allan Hendrickse | 22 October 1927 – 16 March 2005 | Politician, preacher, and teacher |
| Mangosuthu Buthelezi | 27 August 1928 – | Leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, never graduated but transferred to University of Natal. Leader of KwaZulu Bantustan in apartheid South Africa |
| Leepile Moshweu Taunyane | 14 December 1928 – 30 October 2013 | Life President of Premier Soccer League, President of the South African Professional Educators Union |
| Desmond Tutu | 7 October 1931 – | Archbishop Emeritus, South African peace activist, Chaplain at Fort Hare in 1960 |
| Frank Mdlalose | 29 November 1931 – | First Premier of KwaZulu-Natal |
| Ivy Matsepe-Casaburriaa | 18 September 1937 – 6 April 2009 | Minister of Communications, South Africa |
| Manto Tshabalala-Msimang | 9 October 1940 – 16 December 2009 | Minister of Health of South Africa |
| Chris Hani | 28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993 | Leader of the South African Communist Party – Expelled, later graduated at Rhodes University. |
| Wiseman Nkuhlu | 5 February 1944 – | economic advisor to former President Thabo Mbeki, Head of NEPAD |
| Makhenkesi Arnold Stofile | 27 December 1944 – 15 August 2016 | former Minister of Sport of South Africa |
| Sam Nolutshungu | 15 April 1945 – 12 August 1997 | South African scholar |
| Nyameko Barney Pityana | 7 August 1945 – | lawyer and theologian, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa |
| Bulelani Ngcuka | 2 May 1954 – | South Africa’s former Director of Public Prosecutions |
| Loyiso Nongxa | 1954- | Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand |
| Joseph Diescho | 1955 – | Namibian novelist |
| John Hlophe | 1 January 1959 – | Judge President of the Cape Provincial Division of the High Court |
Charles Mugane Njonjo 1920-, former Kenyan Attorney General and Minister for Constitutional Affairs
Munyua Waiyaki former Kenyan Minister for Foreign Affairs
Contact Us/Address:
Alice Campus
Address: Ring Road, Alice, 5700
Phone: 040 602 2011
Bhisho Campus
Address: Independance Avenue, Bhisho, King Williams Town
Phone: 040 608 3407
East London
Address: 50 Church Street
Phone: 043 704 7000