Mazisi Kunene, Zulu poet and ANC activist, is born

Mazisi Kunene was born on 12 May 1930 in Amahlongwa, Southern KwaZulu Natal to a Swazi mother and a Zulu father. He studied Zulu Literature at the University of Natal and later won a scholarship to further his studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at London University. Kunene who was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) used his time oversees to represent the organization.  He became a representative of the ANC in the United Nations (UN). At the end of his studies he was appointed professor of African Literature and Languages at the University of California in Los Angeles. He was banned by the apartheid government in 1966 and spent 30 years in exile, returning in 1993. Upon his return, he was appointed Professor of Zulu language and Literature at the University of Natal. Kunene has published several books including poems and several articles on Zulu Philosophy and cosmology. He died in 2006 at the age of 76 in Durban.