Enoch Mankayi Sontonga
South African composer (1873-1905) · South Africa · On the map · Musicians · Died at 32
Enoch Mankayi Sontonga was a South African composer, who is best known for writing the Xhosa hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika", which, in abbreviated version, has been sung as the first half of the national anthem of South Africa since 1994.
Enoch Mankayi Sontonga is read about 76 times a day, in 27 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 17 September 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
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Previously, it had been the official anthem of the African National Congress since 1925. This song was first adopted by Tanganyika as the national anthem, as a translated Swahili version, in 1961 following independence from Great Britain. In 1964, Zambia also adopted it as its national anthem, followed by Botswana and Zimbabwe from 1980 until 1994. South Africa adopted it as its national anthem in 1994.
