Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli & Nokukhanya Bhengu

Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli, a Zulu Inkosi [tribal chief or king] and former President-General of the African National Congress (ANC) and a lay preacher in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) is a significant figure as he represents the last generation of ANC presidents who were opposed to violence in their ongoing struggle against apartheid in South Africa. He attributed his opposition to violence to his Christian faith and theology. As a result, he is remembered as a peace-maker, a reputation that earned him the honor of being the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Also central to Luthuli’s leadership of the ANC and his people at Groutville were democratic values of leadership where the voices of people mattered including those of the youth and women and his teaching on non-violence, much of which was shaped by his Christian faith and theology. We will touch upon Luthuli’s legacy as a leader who used peaceful means not only to resist apartheid but also to fulfill his duties both in the party and the community. The study on which these brief notes largely depend is a contribution to the struggle to maintain peace in the political sphere in South Africa which is marked by inter and intra-party violence. The aim is to examine Luthuli’s legacy for lessons that can be used in a democratic South Africa.