Nathaniel Impey Honono (Tshutsha) was born on 21 October 1908, in the district of Qumbu, in the then Transkei (Eastern Cape). He graduated with a BA degree from the University of Fort Hare.

In the 1940s Honono was a member of the Transkei Organised Bodies, an organisation responsible for building unity across political and colour lines. He participated in the inaugural conference of the Non European Unity Movement in Bloemfontein on 16 December 1943.  He was an active member of the All-African Convention (AAC), a federal organisation formed in 1936 to resist the Hertzog Bills which disenfranchised African people in the Cape Province. 

He was also an active member of the Cape African Teachers Association (CATA), a radical teacher’s organisation which was affiliated to the AAC and the Unity Movement. Honono served as the president of CATA for many years. 

Honono, together with his colleague, Alie  Fataar, was responsible for convening a joint CATA  and Teachers League of South Africa (TLSA) conference in Cape Town in June 1952, which was attended by 1 200 teachers from all over the Cape Province.  The conference was called to reject separate Bantu, Coloured and Indian education and to build unity among all teachers.  

Honono passed away on 31 December 1986.

References

• Gerhart G.M and Karis T. (ed)(1977). From Protest to challenge: A documentary History of African Politics in South Africa: 1882-1964, Vol.4 Political Profiles 1882 - 1964. Hoover Institution Pres: Stanford University.   Fataar, A. (1987, Aug. - Sept.). A Tribute to Nathaniel Impey Honono. New Unity Movement Bulletin, 14
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