Rommel Roberts

Rommel Roberts was born in Durban in 1949 and grew up in the town of Mafeking. His high school years were spent in the City of Cape Town. Then he studied at the Catholic Seminary of St Joseph´s Theological College near the City of Pietermaritzburg.

His activist years from 1973 were mostly in the City of Cape Trown but through his linkages to the South African Council of Churches and work with Desmond Tutu as his national development person he travelled extensively internationally and throughout the country, coming up against many elements of the Apartheid system including the vicious practices of resettlement, mass removal, poverty and several encounters with security police including imprisonment.

During his human rights activities from 1973-1990 he led campaigns, initiated many anti-apartheid actions, either formed or helped to form scores of organisations mostly in Cape Town as well as in other parts of the country in a bid to set up networks of support, locally, nationally and abroad.

In the post freed Mandela era after 1990 Roberts helped to build up organisational and leadership capacity whilst advancing the cause of social and economic development strategies. During this time he assisted in the historic South African elections.

Robert´s most notable achievement and vision was that of the creation of the very first South African Peace Centre during the darkest years of the Apartheid era during the 1980s.

His commitment to peace activism and speaking truth to power continues unabated until this day.

Roberts currently lives with his wife Robin in a small rural village of Hanover in the Eastern Cape where they oversee many projects and programmes. www.hilltop-centre.org