Significance of the 1958 Sekhukhune Revolts

SEKHUKHUNE’S Bapedi people have always had an embedded culture of insurrection that can be traced back as early as the 19th century.

During those days, King Sekhukhune I stood his ground and put brave fights against encroaching Boer and British colonialists.

As time went by, South African governments undertook new forms – which were still prejudicial to the lives of many Blacks in both urban and rural areas.

In the 1950s, the apartheid government was heightening its grip on rural areas and Sekhukhune was not immune to the introduction of Bantu Authorities Act that invaded chieftaincies, and Bantu Education.

That period saw the formation of an ANC-linked organisation or movement of migrant workers named Sebatakgomo.

Sebatakgomo joined forces with makgoshis (traditional leaders) to put up vehement protests against apartheid policies and laws.

Those laws and policies were enforcing livestock control and re-demarcation of land, and the notorious Bantu education was being introduced.

Sebatakgomo’s role was to mobilise resistance, provide financial support to their counterparts back home in the rural areas and act as brokers between the rural communities and the ANC.

This movement was headed by ANC veterans such as John Nkadimeng and John Phala.

The Sebatakgomo members, who were migrant workers in Gauteng and those who remained in the rural villages, kept the flames of the liberation struggle burning in the hinterland at a time when insurrections against apartheid were more concentrated in urban areas.

It is in the context of this background that GSDM has decided to put some effort in trying to immortalise the heroes and heroines who participated in local protests.

The aim is to ensure that Sekhukhune is also on the map for its role in the liberation struggle, and the information is preserved for future generations to reflect how their forebear fought for their freedom.

Also, this year marks the 130th of the victory that King Sekhukhune I registered against the British Colonialists in 1878 at Tjate – the king’s headquarters.

The history of King Sekhukhune I coupled with the 1958 Uprisings indeed attest to the fact that the people of Sekhukhune have been fighting for decades against injustices.