ANC stalwart Nokwe passed away in Zambia in 1978.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will pay tribute to former ANC secretary-general Advocate Dumalisile Philemon Pearce Nokwe at a Special Provincial Official Funeral on Saturday.
Nokwe, who had lived in exile since 1963, passed away in Zambia in 1978. His remains were repatriated to South Africa last year.
He will be buried, along with his wife Mrs Vuyiswa Malangabi-Nokwe, on Saturday at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
Ramaphosa this week honoured Nokwe with a posthumous honorary title of Senior Counsel (Silk) for the Republic of South Africa.
“The posthumous honour bestowed on the first African advocate of the Supreme Court is a high honour that recognises Adv Nokwe’s expertise and contribution to the legal profession,” the government said.
The president was among several high-profile dignitaries at the funeral, including current ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
From prison to ANC position and exile
According to the government, Nokwe, who was born in 1927, obtained a BSc degree from the University of Fort Hare and a diploma in education.
He was arrested and imprisoned during the 1952 Defiance Campaign, which led to his dismissal by the Transvaal Education Department. He later studied law, obtained an LLB degree and became the first black advocate to be admitted to the Johannesburg Society of Advocates.
A visit to the 1953 World Youth Festival, the Soviet Union, China, and Britain led to his receiving a travel ban from the South African government.
Further restrictions were placed upon him, and the then Native Affairs Department debarred him from taking chambers with his white colleagues in the Johannesburg city centre.
He was put on trial for treason, arrested, and assaulted by police.
He was elected ANC secretary-general in 1958 and mobilised communities against apartheid until the underground leadership directed him to leave South Africa in January 1963.
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