Pretoria - The Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria will be officially renamed after the second President of the African National Congress and liberation hero, Sefako Mapogo Makgatho.
President Jacob Zuma will officially rename the guesthouse on Thursday.
"The renaming of the Presidential Guesthouse is part of the government's programme of promoting social cohesion and forging a common identity and common values for all South Africans," said the Presidency.
A teacher, politician and journalist, Makgatho was born in Pietersburg (now Polokwane) in 1861.
He is one of the outstanding South Africans who worked selflessly to bring about a truly free, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
A dedicated activist and human rights campaigner, he formed one of the earliest black political organisations, the African Political Union, which later changed its name to the Transvaal Native Congress (TNC) - in which he remained from 1906 until 1908.
The TNC later joined the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) when it was formed in 1912 in Bloemfontein.
When the SANNC was established in 1912, he was elected as its national Vice President and as the President of its Transvaal section, the Transvaal Native Congress, from 1912 to 1930. He went on to serve as the President General of the ANC itself from 1917 until he stepped down in 1924.
During his presidency, the party confronted the Union government over the extension of passes to women in 1918, the famous women's strike of 1919, and successfully challenged the Union government over Transvaal Poll Tax of 2.10 pounds in court.
His efforts were rewarded when Parliament passed the Native Taxation and Development Act in 1925. After the end of the First World War, he was part of the delegation sent to Britain to resume negotiations with the imperial government concerning the Native Land Act.
He also had a stint as a teacher for 20 years at the Kilnerton Training Institute in Pretoria, a school that produced prominent South Africans such as Joe Nhlanhla, Miriam Makeba, Lillian Ngoyi, Nthato Motlana and many others.
He was also a keen media activist and helped establish a newspaper, "The Native Advocate", co-owned with Advocate Alfred Mangena.
Former President Nelson Mandela admired the leadership style of Makgatho so much that he named his son after him.
He died in Riverside in Pretoria in 1951, aged 90.
