Sabata Manaka, also known as Tsepo Nkosi, was born in 1951. He lived in Phiri, Soweto, Johannesburg. Manaka left the country in 1978. His brother, Ezekiel Mosioa Manaka tracked him to the Dukwe camp, in Botswana, in 1982, where he was living under the name of Tshepo Nkosi. After this his family lost contact with him.
Sabata Manaka died of natural causes in Angola. He was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).