Percy Qoboza

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Percy Qoboza (1978)

Percy Tseliso Peter Qoboza (born January 17, 1938 in Sophiatown ( Johannesburg ), † January 17, 1988 Johannesburg) was a South African journalist, editor and apartheid critic.

Qoboza grew up in the Johannesburg township Sophiatown, where his parents Flora and Joseph Qoboza owned their own property. Here he attended St Cyprian's Anglican School and later switched to the Pax Training College in Pietersburg . During this time he volunteered in the organization Young Christian Workers (YCW), to which he remained connected even later. He later studied theology at Roma University Seminary in Basutoland .

He then took a position in the Johannesburg city administration, where he was employed in the district administration of Soweto . During this time Qoboza became interested in politics. In 1960 he ended this activity and worked as a full-time organizer for the Progressive Party . Because there were no demographically mixed organizations at that time , his participation initially remained secret. He made a name for himself as an honest, courageous and eloquent actor.

A few months later, Qoboza resigned from the activity of the party organizer and from 1963 took over the role of regional reporter for the newspaper The World , in 1974 he became its editor. Under his leadership it became the newspaper with the greatest reach among blacks in South Africa. In 1975 he stayed at Harvard University as a Nieman Fellowship holder and returned to South Africa as a staunch opponent of apartheid policy. As a newspaper editor, he supported the 1976 Soweto uprising . The World was banned under the Internal Security Act in October 1977 , Qoboza was arrested by the SAP Special Branch and held without charge until March 1978. His case received international attention and the World Association of Newspapers awarded him the Golden Pen of Freedom Award .

After his release, he took over the editing of the post until it had to cease publication in 1980 due to a strike. A reopening was prohibited by the government. Qoboza was guest editor of the Washington Star (1980–1981) and editor of Johannesburg City Press (1986–1988).

On his fiftieth birthday, Qoboza died in hospital of complications from heart and respiratory failure. A large number of mourners turned up for his four-hour funeral service in the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, which was subject to significant restrictions by the police.

In 2010 he received the Order of Ikhamanga in silver posthumously . The New York Society for Ethical Culture presented him with the Ethical Humanist Award in 1978 . Honorary doctorates have been awarded by Tufts University and Amherst College in the United States. He also received the Golden Pen of Freedom from the International Federation of Newspaper Proprietors .

Qoboza was married to his wife Anne. Both met in 1962 at a Young Christian Workers camp .

supporting documents

  1. ^ South African History Online : Percy Qoboza, influential anti-apartheid journalist, dies . at www.sahistory.org.za (English).
  2. ^ A b Republic of South Africa, The Presidency: Percy Tseliso Peter Qoboza (1938-) . at www.thepresidency.gov.za (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f The Journalist (Ed.): A Soldier Armed with A Pen . Biography from October 15, 2014, at www.thejournalist.org.za (English).
  4. ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1977 . Johannesburg 1978, p. 179.
  5. ^ South African History Online : Percy Qoboza and his deputy, Aggrey Klaaste are arrested by the Special Branch police . at www.sahistory.org.za (English).
  6. ↑ Percy Qoboza at britannica.com (English)
personal data
SURNAME Qoboza, Percy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Qoboza, Percy Tseliso Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African journalist, editor, and apartheid critic
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Sophiatown
DATE OF DEATH 17th January 1988
Place of death Johannesburg