APARTHEID-ERA BANISHMENT RELIVED

APARTHEID-ERA BANISHMENT RELIVED

By Kabelo Selebogo

Barolong Boo Tlou le Tau and Batlhako Ba Matutu tour Driefontein which used to house their forebears who were banished during the Apartheid era. Photo : Kabelo Selebogo

Barolong Boo Tlou Le Tau in Bona Bona (Dr Segomotsi Mompati District) welcomed the Batlhako Ba Matutu from Mabeskraal in their land with open arms last weekend, as they toured the area that housed their forebears who were banished during the Apartheid era.

Those banished were influential individuals who were sent by the Apartheid state to live far from their homes, to prevent them from swaying communities against the regime.

The visit, hosted by the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (Acsr) as part of the Black History Month celebrations, was the first since the end of Apartheid. The area comprises eleven rondavels used to accommodate the banished.

Banishment was used to punish and intimidate ordinary citizens and traditional leaders who were against the white oppression. They were plucked from their communities and own families into abandoned parts of the country to live there, to suffer and starve. Some did not survive the ordeal. 

 Acsr sought to use the visit to record African oral history.

“The significance of the tour is to recognise the contribution, sacrifices and roles played by people who were against apartheid and in support of the liberation of the oppressed people living in South Africa,’’ said Acsr Chief Director for Arts, Culture, Libraries and Archives, Thabo Mabe. 

Mabe added that it was the objective of his Department to ensure that such history did not perish and that it needed to be archived for future generations.

The event was attended by academics, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) students from North-West University (NWU), Dikgosi, Historians, learners from various schools, youth and the elderly.

Dr Motheo Koitsiwe from NWU, IKS sharing the importance of conducting academic research about banished people in Driefontein. Photo credit : Kabelo Selebogo 

Dr Motheo Koitsiwe from NWU said the tour and the gathering marked a need for history to be documented.

“After this event we need to engage with Acsr, Dikgosi and community members to conduct an academic research about banishment which will provide a true reflection of what occurred and give a narrative of Africans and historians,” said Dr Koitsiwe.

He added that such research needed “to be written in our native language as part of preserving our mother tongues and to reach our communities across South Africa and to form part of syllabus in learning institutions”.

Mokate George Mabe addressing community members during Black History Month event held in Bona Bona. Photo credit : Kabelo Selebogo

Leading the visitors on the site from Batlhako Ba Matutu was Mokate George Mabe, the uncle to Kgosi Moshe Mabe, the chairperson of North West House of Traditional Affairs. Mokate Mabe was accompanied by great grandchildren of family members who were banished in Driefontein.

Making reference to “The Forgotten People”, a book about the banishment, Mabe said Kgosi Jeremeiah Rakoko Mabe was one of those people who were against oppression and was forced to step down as a Kgosi and banished from Mabeskraal to Driefontein.

“We urge government to build a museum in Driefontein which will archive what happened in the past and construct a memorial centre in Mabeskraal with names of people who were banished engraved on a wall.”

Kgosi Otlathiba Monchusi from Bona Bona said he would like to see Driefontein turned into a Heritage Site and become a tourist destination.