The 1908-10 Campaign Against Incorporation Into South Africa (Part 2)

We left off with the observations that, ably assisted by his Tribal Secretary Peter Sidzumo, during his later years Kgosi Sebele I (along with his brother-in-law and close ally Kgosi Bathoen I) also associated himself with the then rising current of black protest politics within South Africa, which was finding its voice through a vibrant African controlled press, regional Native Congresses and political associations, as well as such forums as the Inter-State Native College Scheme that founded Fort Hare University.

In a published address, given in absentia, at the Inter-State Native College Scheme’s July 1908 Convention, Sebele addressed the issue of “Why South Africa Fails” head on by in part noting:

“But then who is really to blame that ‘the [so-called] Kafirs has thus commenced to read from the wrong end of the book’. It is a very common fallacy frequently hinted at by white witnesses that a good deal of the blame for the existing unsatisfactory state of affairs rests on the shoulders of the missionaries.

Editor's Comment
Batswana need to do better to stop FMD

It is a clear signal that the government’s purse is empty and that our own behaviour has left veterinary officials fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. We have been here before. During COVID-19, many of us thought we knew better. We ignored simple rules, we carried on as if the danger was someone else’s problem, and the virus took lives and left our economy on its knees. We are still broke from that experience. Yet now, with FMD...

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