Thomas Mtobi Mapikela was born on 12 November 1869 in a place called Hleuhoeng in Lesotho, which is approximately 10 kilometres south of Ficksburg.

[1] In 1892, at the age of 23, Mapikela moved to Bloemfontein and settled in a township called Waaihoek where he worked as a carpenter and a builder.

The Waaihoek Township was situated close to where the Bloemfontein power station and cooling towers stand today.

[3] In Waaihoek, Mapikela owned two houses which were demolished during the forced removal of black people from the area.

In 1909, the anti-union delegation, led by William Schreiner, included Mapikela, John Tengo Jabavu, Abdullah Abdurrahman, Walter Rubusana, and Matt Fredericks.

These men travelled to London to protest the British government with their racist provisions of the draft of the South African Act.

In the 1930s, Mapikela served on the executive committees of both the ANC and the All African Convention – held in 1935 to oppose the second Hertzog (J.

[13] As the head blockman, Mapikela would hold meetings at his house to discuss community problems such as water supply, installation of electricity and the possible promotion of black education.

Due to the lack of mortuaries in Mangaung, Mapikela manufactured coffins in his house to assist mainly poor communities.

This house accommodated travellers from all over the country who visited Bloemfontein for personal, political and non-political reasons and who used trains as a mode of transport.

Some of these travellers slept in this house due to the fact that during that time the hotels had restrictions in terms of accommodating black people.