Nelson Rohihlahia (stirring up trouble) Mandela was born on 18 July 1918, near Umtata, in the Transkei region of South Africa. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela was trained to become the next chief to rule his tribe, but he was also a determined student and eventually joined an all black college, Fort Hare, where he was expelled for joining a student boycott. He later obtained an arts degree in Johannesburg and studied law at the University of Witwatersrand.