He was born in Marapyane close to Pretoria.[1]: 203 He attended and matriculated at Kilnerton High School, Pretoria.[1]: 203 He then attended the University of Fort Hare and obtained a B.Sc. degree.[1]: 203 Furthering his education, he took medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand.[1]: 203 Banned by the government for five years, he need government permission to attend his graduation in 1954.[1]: 203 In 1956 he became a resident doctor at Baragwanath Hospital.[1]: 204
He became politically active at Fort Hare when he joined the African National Congress Youth League and later became its secretary.[1]: 203 He was tried alongside Nelson Mandela by the Apartheid regime during the Defiance Campaign of 1951–52.[1]: 203 He played a prominent role during the Soweto uprising as a member of the Black Community Programme and the Black Parents' Association which resulted in he and his wife being detained and after the collapse of the Soweto Urban Bantu Council, became one of the members of the Soweto Committee of Ten in June 1977.[1]: 204 [2] As founding member of the Black Community Programme, its goal was to economically empower black South Africans, and he founded Phaphama Africa Commercial Enterprises, Lesedi Clinic (the first black owned, private up-market hospital in the country), and Sizwe Medical Aid (the first black owned medical aid scheme in South Africa).[3]
Motlana: The Sharpeville Massacre chillingly portrayed the readiness of the state to use violence to counter and crush opposition, a willingness that has been seen time and time again since then.
— From Discussions of the Inaugural Programme of the Africa Leadership Forum, Ota, Nigeria, 24 October to 1 November 1988 [4]
Following apartheid, Motlana took a lead role in the formation of the New African Investments Limited, or NAIL, which purchased many previously white run corporations at below market value. These included South Africa's largest newspaper The Sowetan.[5] Due to his huge success in business Motalana earned the nickname "Father of Black Economic Empowerment."[6]
^Coetzee, C & Pienaar, H. (1999) "Nthato Harrison Motlana" from They Shaped our Century: The Most Influential South Africans of the Twentieth Century. Published by Human and Rousseau - p.364-368 http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/nthato-harrison-motlana
^[1], African Leadership Forum, Ota, Nigeria, 24 October to 1 November 1988
