John Mackenzie (30 August 1835 – 23 March 1899) was a Scottish Christian missionary who worked in Southern Africa, and who argued for the rights of the native Africans.

[2] Three years later, he went to Southern Africa and began his missionary work at Kuruman (where David Livingstone had earlier served), at that time in the northern part of Cape Colony.

He became disturbed by encroachments into Tswana territory by Boers (Dutch-speaking European settlers) from the Republic of Transvaal.

From 1867, he publicly urged that the United Kingdom adopt the Tswana territories as a protectorate, arguing that British rule would safeguard the rights of the Africans against the racism of the Boers.

In 1884, the UK government established the protectorate of British Bechuanaland, and appointed Mackenzie its deputy commissioner.