Tokyo Sexwale

Mosima Gabriel Sexwale, more commonly known as Tokyo Sexwale, was born 5 March 1953 in Orland West, Johannesburg, is a South African businessman and former politician, ant-Apartheid activist and political prisoner.
His nickname is derived from his involvement with the sport of karate as a youth.
A charismatic leader, Sexwale was imprisoned on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activities, alongside figures such as Nelson Mandela. After the 1994 general election—the first universal franchise election in South Africa—Sexwale became the premier of Gauteng Province.
He retired from politics in 1998 and subsequently became a major business leader. Sexwale is married to a white paralegal he met while in Robbens Island, Judy van Vuuren; they have two children, Gabrielle and Chris.

In 1976, Sexwale was captured after a skirmish with the South African security forces and, along with 11 others, was charged and later convicted of terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government after an almost two-year long trial in the Pretoria Supreme Court.
In 1977, Sexwale was sent to the Robben Island serve an 18-year sentence. While imprisoned at Robben Island, he studied for a B. Comm degree at the University of South Africa.
Sexwale was released in June 1990 under the terms of the Groote Schuur Agreement. He had spent 13 years in prison.
During this time he was represented in part by a young white paralegal named Judy van Vuuren. They began a personal relationship while he remained in prison, and soon after his release, in 1990, they became married.

After the South African elections in April 1994, Sexwale was elected as the first premier of the Gauteng Province. In this role, he was credited with bringing peace to several politically volatile townships. Sexwale left politics for the corporate sector in 1998. The reasons for this was never made completely clear, but was reportedly due to feeling stifled by central government restrictions as well as becoming exhausted by internal African National Congress intrigues.

Upon leaving the public sector, Sexwale founded Mvelaphanda Holdings (Venda for "progress"), a company of which he is still executive chairman. Mvelaphanda is primarily focused on the mining, energy and related sectors. Some of Sexwale's main interests are oil and diamond mining, for which he has been granted concessions across Africa and Russia; these interests are controlled by a subsidiary of Mvelaphanda Holdings called Mvelaphanda Resources, of which he is chairman.

He is also known as a philanthropist and is a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Global Philanthropists Circle of the Synergos Institute, the Business Trust and the Robben Island Ex-Prisoners Trust. Furthermore, he is a patron of societies such as Johannesburg Child and Family Welfare Society, Streetwise South Africa (an organisation dedicated to assisting street children), Save the Family Fund (catering for families and communities ravaged by apartheid violence) and The Sky is No Limit (which aims to expose disadvantaged youths to hi-tech education in computers and aviation).

Sexwale has received many honours and awards, including the Legion d'honneur from France, an honorary doctorate in technology from Nottingham Trent University, an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from De Monfort University, the Order of the Freedom of Havana (Cuba), and the Cross of Valour (Ruby Class) from South Africa.

Albert Lutuli

Chief Albert John Lutuli was born circa 1898 near Bulawayo and(c. 1898 – 21 July 1967) was a South African teacher and politician. Lutuli was elected president of the African National Congress (ANC), at the time an organisation that led opposition to the white minority government in South Africa. He was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in the non-violent struggle against apartheid. He died 21 July 1967, allegedly after by run over by a train.

On completing a teaching course at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg, Lutuli took up the running of a small primary school in the Natal uplands. He was confirmed in the Methodist church and became a lay preacher. In 1920 he received a government bursary to attend a higher teachers' training course at Adams College.
His Christian beliefs acted as a foundation for his approach to political life in South Africa at a time when many of his contemporaries were calling for a more militant response to Apartheid.

In 1935 Luthuli accepted the chieftaincy of the Groutville reserve (this was not an hereditary position, but awarded as the result of an election) and was suddenly immersed in the realities of South Africa's racial politics.
Chief Albert Luthuli joined the ANC in 1945 and was elected to the Committee of the KwaZulu Province Provincial Division of ANC and in 1951 to the presidency of the Division. The next year he joined with other ANC leaders in organizing non-violent campaigns to defy discriminatory laws.

The government, charging Lutuli with a conflict of interest, demanded that he withdraw his membership in ANC or forfeit his office as tribal chief. Refusing to do either voluntarily, he was dismissed from his chieftainship.
A month later Lutuli was elected president-general of ANC. Responding immediately, the government imposed a succession of bans on his movement, the first for two years, the second also for two years. When this second ban expired, he attended an ANC conference in 1956, only to be arrested and charged with treason a few months later, along with 155 others. After being held in custody for about a year during the preliminary hearings, he was released in December, 1957, and the charges against him were dropped.

In 1960, following the Sharpville Massacre, Luthuli led the call for protest. Once again summoned to a governmental hearing (this time in Johannesburg) Luthuli was horrified when a supporting demonstration turned violent and 72 Black Africans were shot (and another 200 injured). Luthuli responded by publicly burning his pass book. He was detained on 30 March under the 'State of Emergency' declared by the South African government - one of 18,000 arrested in a series of police raids. On release he was confined to his home in Stanger, Natal.

In 1961 Chief Albert Luthuli was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize for Peace (it had been held over that year) for his part in the anti-Apartheid struggle. In 1962 he was elected Rector of Glasgow University (an honorary position), and the following year published his autobiography, 'Let My People Go'. Although suffering from ill health and failing eyesight, and still restricted to his home in Stranger, Albert Luthuli remained president-general of the ANC. On 21 July 1967, whilst out walking near his home, Luthuli was hit by a train and died. He was supposedly crossing the line at the time - an explanation dismissed by many of his followers who believed more sinister forces were at work.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron ,an actress and former fashion model, was born in Benoni, South Africa on 7 August 1975. She is best-known for her portrayal as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster, for which she won her Acedemy Award for Best Actress.

Trained as a ballet dancer, she was sent to Milan at 16 to become a model following the death of her father. After tiring of modeling, Theron returned to her first love, dancing, which resulted in a move to New York to dance with the Joffrey Ballet. Unfortunately, her career was halted by a knee injury, which led Theron -- at her mother's behest -- to travel to Los Angeles to try her luck with acting. After a long, unprofitable struggle, fate smiled upon Theron in the form of a bank encounter.

As legend has it, Charlize Theron was discovered by an agent while fighting with a bank manager on Hollywood Boulevard. Eighteen and starving, Theron purportedly got into the argument after the manager refused to cash her check. The outburst caught the agent's attention, and eight months later Theron got her first acting job.



Charlize won her first dose of recognition with 2 Days in the Valley (1996). The film, although not particularly successful, gave her both much-needed exposure and critical praise. The film also served as the stepping stone to her first leading role, that of Keanu Reeves' embattled wife in The Devil's Advocate (1997). The film drew poor reviews, but Theron managed to win widespread praise for her performance.

After appearing in a few notable films, Charlize starred as the lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster in 2003.
Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema".
For this role, Theron won her Best Actress Oscar in February 2004, as well as the SAG Award and Golden Globe Award. She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress.
The Oscar win pushed her to The Hollywood Reporter's 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood; earning $10,000,000 for both her subsequent films, North Country and Aeon Flux, where she ranked seventh.

2005 would be a decidedly mixed year for Theron. She first appeared in the live-action adaptation of the cult animated series Aeon Flux, a film that was nearly unanimously maligned by critics and largely avoided by audiences. Luckily, she also starred in the well-received docudrama North Country. Playing a woman who successfully battled sexual harrassment, Theron was honored with her second Oscar nomination for the performance. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.



Charlize currently resides in Los Angeles, with her long-time boyfriend actor Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in Head in the Clouds and Trapped.

Charlize is also involved in women's rights organizations. In 2006, Charlize won GLAAD's Vanguard Award for increasing "visibility and understanding". Charlize is a supporter of animal rights and is an active member of PETA.

Charlize became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2007.

Nkosi Johnson

Nkosi Johnson (4 Febraury 1989 - 1 June 2001) was a South African child victim of HIV/AIDS, who made a powerful impact on public perceptions of the pandemic and its effects before his death at the age of 12.
He was the longest surviving child born with the HIV/AIDS virus in South Africa.

Nkosi, whose birth name was Xolani Nkosi, was born to Nonthlanthla Daphne Nkosi in a township east of Johannesburg. He never knew his father.
Nkosi was HIV-positive from birth, and was legally adopted by Gail Johnson, a Johannesburg Public Relations practitioner, when his own mother, debilitated by the disease, was no longer able to care for him.

The young Nkosi Johnson first came to public attention in 1997, when a primary school in the Johannesburg suburb of Melville refused to accept him as a pupil because of his HIV-positive status. The incident caused a furor at the highest political level - South Africa's Constitution forbids discrimination on the grounds of medical status - and the school later reversed its decision.
Nkosi's birth mother died of HIV/AIDS in the same year that he started school. His own condition steadily worsened over the years, although, with the help of medication and treatment, he was able to lead a fairly active life at school and at home.

Nkosi was the keynote speaker at the 13th International AIDS conference in Durban, where he encouraged AIDS victims to be open about the disease and to seek equal treatment. "Care for us and accept us," he said at the conference. "We are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else. Don't be afraid of us - we are all the same."
Nelson Mandela referred to Nkosi as an"icon of the struggle for life."



At the conference, he scolded South African president, Thabo Mbeki, on his government's inability to provide drugs, which resulted in the miffed president to leave during his speech. He later told the BBC:
"I feel like I am going to die quickly, like my mother did, very soon. But at least she got to be a grown-up. I hate having this disease."

Together with his foster mother Gail Johnson, Nkosi founded a refuge for HIV positive mothers and their children, Nkosi's Haven, in Johannesburg. In November 2005, Gail represented Nkosi when he posthumously received the International Children's Peace Prize from the hands of Mikhail Gorbachev. Nkosi's Haven received the US $100,000 prize money from the KidsRights Foundation.

Nkosi's mantra is something which every global citizen, not only South Africans, should follow:
"Do all you can / with what you have / in the time you have / in the place you are." - Nkosi Johnson

His death was a tragedy which left the world heartbroken and South Africa without a hero.
His death has left a void in the campaign against the HIV/AIDS disease.

Ashley Callie

Ashley Callie was a South African actress best known for her role as Leone Haines in Isidingo (from 2000 to 2008). Callie died on 15 February 2008 as a result of head injuries from a head-on car accident in Johannesburg, South Africa on 8 February 2008.

Born in Johannesburg on 19 May 1973, Ashley studied at Wits University and received a BA Honours degree in Dramatic Arts.
Her performance in Isidingo recently won Ashley the Best Actress award at the South African Film and Television Awards. When she was not in front of the cameras, Ashley was also co-owner of La Vista Social Club in Melville, Johannesburg.

On 15 Narch 2007, Callie told Top Billing magazine that playing the role of Lee Haines on Isidingo had been a life long ambition of hers. She had been a fan of the show ever since it first aired in 1998. In this interview, she explains how she does not enjoy the fame that comes with her celebrity status, and that her family is an extremely important part of her life. She also goes on to explain why her character, Lee Haines, is not at all like her.

In 2006, she won the SAFTA (South African Film and Television Awards) award for best actress, for her role in Isidingo. The awards took place on 28 October 2006 (Who plays Barker Haines.On 29 February 2008, Callie won the Mzansi Star Actress award at the inaugural Stars of Mzansi awards ceremony, held in Johannesburg. The award was accepted on her behalf by Robert Whitehead in Isidingo), and Steven Miyambo (Who plays Orlando).

After her death, South African Minister of Arts and Culture, Dr Pallo Jordan has called Callie the image of the new South Africa:

"We were truly blessed to have a young, gifted, South African who stretched all the sinews in her body to reflect the ideals of a united, non-racial and non-sexist society... the ministry is deeply shocked and saddened"

The greatest tragedy is the loss of a talent and potential to rival the best in the international arena.

Allison Botha

Alison was born and raised in the seaside city of Port Elizabeth. Her leadership qualities started showing in her youth, she was Head Girl of Collegiate High School for Girls in 1985. After studying at the Port Elizabeth Technikon for a further year, she worked for three years before travelling to London in 1990. She spent four years overseas working and travelling. On her return to South Africa, she took up a position as an Insurance Broker with a Port Elizabeth business.

In December 1994, Alison was abducted outside her home by two men who raped, stabbed and disembowelled her, finally slashing her throat 16 times to make sure she was dead. No-one could have believed that anyone with such severe injuries could live.

But Alison defied death. And more than that, she denied her attackers the satisfaction of destroying her life.

The courage which allowed her to move beyond severe physical and emotional trauma and to turn a devastating experience into something life-affirming and strong, is an inspiration to people everywhere.

The Noordhoek Ripper trial, as it was called, captured the country's interest with its confessions of Satanism and its exposure of random evil.

One of the first South African rape survivors to speak to the media, Alison has in recent years spoken to thousands of people around the country and abroad.

Alison's story "I HAVE LIFE - Alison's Journey", was one of the first books of its kind to be published in South Africa, a country where rape statistics are among the highest in the world and is an invaluable survival guide.

It has been classified as a best-seller in South Africa and has continued to be so since publication.

Alison has been speaking on the professional speaking circuit for several years. Her aim to 'make a difference' has been overwhelming as she has spoken to countless thousands of people which include large business corporations, women and social groups as well as several schools. She has addressed international audiences in over 20 different countries including the USA, Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Audiences sit in rapt attention as Alison speaks of the brutally cruel torture to which she was subjected and how she has overcome the challenge of that experience by applying her own ABC - Attitude, Belief and Choice.

Alison wrote another book: "For the tough times: Alison's Survivors".

The manner in which she survived, her inner strength and determination, her lack of bitterness, and her serenity and humility captured the attention of the whole of South Africa. In 1995, she was awarded the prestigious Rotarian Paul Harris Award for 'Courage Beyond the Norm'. In the same year she was the first recipient of the Femina magazine's 'Woman of Courage' award. She was also chosen as Port Elizabeth's Citizen of the Year at a glittering ceremony.

Christiaan Barnard

Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a cardiac surgeon, famous for performing the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant.

Christiaan Neethling Barnard was born in the small town of Beaufort West, in the Western Cape, South Africa, on November 8, 1922. Son of a church pastor, one of his four brothers died from heart disease at the age of five, which probably had an influence in Chris' choice of profession.

In 1946 he graduated (MB, ChB) from the University of Cape Town. This was followed by his internship at the Groote Schuur Hospital.
He then served as a family physician in the Western Cape until 1951. He then moved back to Cape Town and worked at the City Hospital as a Senior Resident Medical Officer, and in the Department of Medicine at the Groote Schuur Hospital as a Registrar.
In 1953, he received the degree of Master of Medicine (MMed) from the University of Cape Town, and in the same year he was awarded a MD (Doctor of Medicine) degree from the same university for a dissertation on tuberculous meningitis. He was then appointed Registrar (resident) in the Department of Surgery, at the Groote Schuur Hospital.
In 1956, he received a scholarship for a two-year postgraduate training in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. In 1958 he received a Master of Science in Surgery.

Following the first successful kidney transplant in 1953, in the United States, Barnard performed the first kidney transplant in South Africa in 1959. Barnard experimented for several years with animal heart transplants. More than 50 dogs received transplanted hearts, but typically died shortly afterward. With the availability of new breakthroughs introduced by several pioneers, amongst them Norman Shumway, several surgical teams were in a position to prepare for a human heart transplant. Barnard had a patient willing to undergo the procedure, but as with other surgeons, he needed a suitable donor.

Barnard performed the world's first human heart transplant operation on 3 December 1967, in an operation assisted by his brother, Marius Barnard, lasting nine hours and using a team of thirty people. The patient, Louis Wahkansky, was a 55 year old grocer, suffering from diabetes and an incurable heart disease.
The donor heart came from a young woman, Denise Darvall, who had been killed in a 2 December 1967 road accident while crossing a street in Cape Town. After securing permission from Darvall's father to use her heart, Barnard performed the transplant.

Washkansky survived the operation and lived for eighteen(18) days. However, he succumbed to pneumonia induced by the immunosuppressive drugs he was taking.

Barnard became an international superstar overnight and was celebrated around the world for his daring accomplishment. He was later to be also the first to perform a heterotopic heart transplant, an operation that he himself devised.
Barnard continued to perform heart transplants. A transplant operation was conducted on 2 January 1968, and the patient, Philip Blaiberg, survived for 19 months. Mrs Dorothy Fisher was given a new heart in 1969 and became Barnard's longest surviving patient. She lived for 24 years after the transplant.
He was also the first surgeon to attempt xenograft transplantation in a human patient, while attempting to save the life of a young girl unable to leave artificial life support after a second aortic valve replacement. He was later accused of wrongdoing by her parents.

He was loved by his patients throughout the world, hundreds of whom were treated free of charge, and hated by many others who were jealous of his instant success. He was accused by some colleagues in the profession of "stealing" the idea and the opportunity to perform the first heart transplant. Often considered a spoiled and arrogant personality, he was also regarded as kind and considerate by others.

Barnard was an outspoken opponent of South Africa's laws of apartheid, and was not afraid to criticize his nation's government, although he had to temper his remarks to some extent in order to travel abroad.
Rather than leaving his homeland, he used his fame in order to campaign for a change in the law. After Denise Darvall provided the means for the very first heart transplant, Barnard transplanted her kidney into a 10 year old mixed race boy. The donor for the second heart transplant was also of mixed race.
Christian's brother, Dr. Marius Barnard, went into politics, and was elected to the legislature on an anti-apartheid platform. However, he later claimed that the reason he never won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was probably because he was a "white South African".

In 1983, because of the rheumatoid arthritis that affected his hands and thus prevented him from operating, he retired as Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Cape Town. He then spent two years as the Scientist-In-Residence at the Oklahoma Transplantation Institute in the USA and acted as consultant for other institutions.

He divided the remainder of his years between Austria, where he established the Chris Barnard Foundation, dedicated to helping underprivileged children throughout the world, and his game-farm in Beaufort West, in South Africa. He wrote a cardiology text, and several novels, including a thriller about organ transplantation. Earlier, he had penned his autobiography, One Life, which sold worldwide and whose royalties he generously donated to the Chris Barnard Fund, for the support of research in heart disease and organ transplantation in Cape Town. Twenty years later, he traced his subsequent life in The Second Life.

Chris Barnard died in Cyprus, where he was on holiday, on 2 September 2001, shortly before he was to complete 79 years of life. An autopsy revealed his death to be caused by an acute asthma attack.