Alan Keith Brooks was born on 18 May 1940 in Bristol, United Kingdom. His father was a doctor by profession. His family moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he grew up. After completing high school, Brooks with the help of the Beit Scholarship, went to the University of Cape Town (UCT) where he registered for a law degree. He subsequently became a lecturer in the African Studies department.

George Mokate Ramafoku is the only person, banished post-1948, who was also banished prior to 1948.   

His banishment order, of 8 May 1935, notes that Chief Solomon Mabi made complaints against fifteen members of the community and that an inquiry was held at Pilansberg, Western Transvaal (now North West Province) on 25 March 1935. 

Richard Owen Dudley was born in Cape Town and grew up in the house bought in 1852 by his great-grandfather in Palmboom Road, Newlands. The large house was shared by his father, Samuel, and an aunt and both their families.

There had been periodic unrest at Mabieskraal (Pilansberg), Rustenburg District, Transvaal (now North West Province) from the 1930s onwards. During the 1950s, the regent, Jeremiah Rakoko Mabe, and his councilors and a large section of the community opposed the introduction of Bantu Authorities. They ‘stated that acceptance of this system would amount to rule by government officials rather than the traditional tribal leaders.’