President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday, deliver the 19th Annual Steve Biko Memorial Lecture at the University of South Africa in Pretoria.

The announcement on Wednesday by the Presidency that Ramaphosa will deliver the lecture coincided with the day Steve Biko died - 12 September, 41 years ago. The anti-apartheid activist died at the age of 31 in detention at the hands of the apartheid regime.

As an exemplary leader, Biko championed positive self-esteem and pride among black South Africans in the face of discrimination, state-sponsored violence, and repression.

The Steve Biko Memorial Lecture was first presented in 2000, with Former Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki among previous presenters.

The Memorial Lecture is the principal avenue through which the Steve Biko Foundation pursues its vision to be the premier, independent promoter of the values Steve Biko lived and died for: restoring people to their true humanity.

On Friday President Ramaphosa will deliver the Steve Biko lecture at 6 pm in the ZK Matthews Hall, UNISA Muckleneuk Campus, Pretoria.