View source for Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi

Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi (S. E. K. Mqhayi), born on December 1, 1875, in Gqumahashe village near Alice in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, was a prominent Xhosa writer and intellectual. His parents were Christians, with his father known for leadership in their church. After losing his mother at age two, Mqhayi moved to Centane with his uncle during the 1885 witgatboom famine, where he immersed himself in Xhosa culture and language. He later attended Lovedale College to train as a teacher.

Mqhayi co-founded *Izwi Labantu* newspaper in 1897, expressing concerns about Africa's westernization. In 1905, he joined the Xhosa Bible Revision Board, contributing to standardizing Xhosa grammar and writing. His literary works include *U-Samson* (1907), a lost novel; *Ityala lamawele* (1914), which defended customary law; and a biography of John Knox Bokwe published posthumously in 1972. He also wrote an autobiography, *UMqhayi waseNtab'ozuko*, and added verses to the hymn *Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika*.

Known as "Imbongi yesizwe" (the poet of the nation), Mqhayi's work preserved Xhosa language and culture. Nelson Mandela admired him, calling him a poet laureate. *Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika* became a national anthem in South Africa, Namibia, and Zambia. Mqhayi won the 1935 May Ester Bedford Prize for Bantu literature before his death on July 29, 1945, in Ntab'ozuko.