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Royal Bafokeng Nation
The Royal Bafokeng is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers 1,000 square kilometers (390 sq mi) in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital is Phokeng, near Rustenburg. "Bafokeng" is used to refer to both the tribal grouping as well as the land its members inhabit. The kingdom's current ruler is Kgosi (King) Leruo Molotlegi, who has reigned since 2000. The Bafokeng first settled in the Rustenburg Valley in c.1450AD, the presence of the ceramics in the area suggests the arrival of the Bafokeng in the Rustenburg Phokeng valley at about this time. Kgosi Tshukudu became the first king of a unified Bafokeng in 1750.
Bafokeng gained greater international attention in 2010, owing to its Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where six of the FIFA 2010 World Cup games were played, and the Bafokeng Sports Campus, which hosted the England football team during the World Cup.
The Bafokeng tribe (Bafokeng meaning 'People of the dew', or 'People of the grass') own a piece of land in South Africa's bushveld on which 150,000 people, not all ethnic Bafokeng, live. Oral tradition suggests that when they settled in the Rustenburg valley, it captured heavy overnight dew, holding the promise that the land would be fertile and hence that the community would prosper. The Bafokeng struggled to buy the land, repelling invaders and imperialists as they did so.
About 100–150,000 ethnic Bafokeng live in an area 150 km north-west of Johannesburg, South Africa, with the balance scattered primarily throughout South Africa. The Bafokeng have retained their unique cultural identity and traditional leadership structures and are led by a hereditary kgosi (king), currently Leruo Molotlegi.
Much of the terrain is rolling grassland. Farming was the primary occupation until the discovery of the Merensky Reef in 1925, which led to mining. The Merensky Reef, a foot-thick layer of platinum-rich rock in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, is part of the richest platinum deposit in the world.
The Bafokeng people trace their history back to the year 1140. Kgosi (King) Sekete III, who ruled in the early 1700s, was the first in the line of kings, of which the current Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi is the 15th direct descendant. Sekete III was followed by kings Diale, Ramorwa, Sekete IV, and Thethe. Then came arguably the most influential king in Bafokeng history: Kgosi August Mokgatle, who reigned from 1834 to 1891. Pooling community resources, he started buying back the land the Bafokeng had occupied for centuries from white colonialists. Thirty-three years after Mokgatle's death, a part of the reef containing the world's largest deposit of platinum group metals were discovered under Bafokeng land. Owing to Mokgatle's purchasing of the land, the Bafokeng were able to eventually (post apartheid) claim royalties from platinum mining industry mines within the nation.
Mokgwaro George Molotlegi (1936 to 1997) was the brother of Kgosi Edward Patrick Lebone Molotlegi who ruled the Bafokeng from 1988 to 1994. During his reign, South Africa's ruling National Party had created the Bophuthatswana government as the authority over all Batswana people, including the Bafokeng. Kgosi Lebone's opposition to the move brought him into conflict with the then Bophuthatswana president, Lucas Mangope, who detained the Bafokeng king and harassed him until he was forced to flee to neighbouring Botswana. Mangope then recognized Mokgwaro George Molotlegi as Kgosi of the Bafokeng. This situation prevailed until 1994 when Mangope was forced out of power when Bophuthatswana was reintegrated into South Africa. This enabled Kgosi Lebone to return to Phokeng and to once again lead his people. His return was marked by tumultuous celebrations, but they were short lived as Kgosi Lebone died in November 1995. The would-be Kgosi Mokgwaro George Molotlegi returned to his home in the area and remained there until his death in December 1997.
In 1925, the world's largest deposits of platinum group metals, such as platinum, rhodium and palladium were discovered on Bafokeng lands. Mining companies now pay royalties to the nation in exchange for the right to mine these metals. A court settlement in 1999 with Impala Platinum Mining (Implats), the second-largest platinum company in South Africa, gave the Royal Bafokeng Nation a 22 percent royalty on all platinum taken from their territory and an ownership stake in Implats. The value of the Bafokeng's stake in Impala had tripled to more than $50 million by 2001. The Bafokeng receive annual royalties of approximately $63 million from platinum mining.
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Royal Bafokeng Nation
The Royal Bafokeng is the ethnic homeland of the Bafokeng people, a Setswana-speaking traditional community. The monarchy covers 1,000 square kilometers (390 sq mi) in the North West Province of South Africa. The capital is Phokeng, near Rustenburg. "Bafokeng" is used to refer to both the tribal grouping as well as the land its members inhabit. The kingdom's current ruler is Kgosi (King) Leruo Molotlegi, who has reigned since 2000. The Bafokeng first settled in the Rustenburg Valley in c.1450AD, the presence of the ceramics in the area suggests the arrival of the Bafokeng in the Rustenburg Phokeng valley at about this time. Kgosi Tshukudu became the first king of a unified Bafokeng in 1750.
Bafokeng gained greater international attention in 2010, owing to its Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where six of the FIFA 2010 World Cup games were played, and the Bafokeng Sports Campus, which hosted the England football team during the World Cup.
The Bafokeng tribe (Bafokeng meaning 'People of the dew', or 'People of the grass') own a piece of land in South Africa's bushveld on which 150,000 people, not all ethnic Bafokeng, live. Oral tradition suggests that when they settled in the Rustenburg valley, it captured heavy overnight dew, holding the promise that the land would be fertile and hence that the community would prosper. The Bafokeng struggled to buy the land, repelling invaders and imperialists as they did so.
About 100–150,000 ethnic Bafokeng live in an area 150 km north-west of Johannesburg, South Africa, with the balance scattered primarily throughout South Africa. The Bafokeng have retained their unique cultural identity and traditional leadership structures and are led by a hereditary kgosi (king), currently Leruo Molotlegi.
Much of the terrain is rolling grassland. Farming was the primary occupation until the discovery of the Merensky Reef in 1925, which led to mining. The Merensky Reef, a foot-thick layer of platinum-rich rock in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, is part of the richest platinum deposit in the world.
The Bafokeng people trace their history back to the year 1140. Kgosi (King) Sekete III, who ruled in the early 1700s, was the first in the line of kings, of which the current Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi is the 15th direct descendant. Sekete III was followed by kings Diale, Ramorwa, Sekete IV, and Thethe. Then came arguably the most influential king in Bafokeng history: Kgosi August Mokgatle, who reigned from 1834 to 1891. Pooling community resources, he started buying back the land the Bafokeng had occupied for centuries from white colonialists. Thirty-three years after Mokgatle's death, a part of the reef containing the world's largest deposit of platinum group metals were discovered under Bafokeng land. Owing to Mokgatle's purchasing of the land, the Bafokeng were able to eventually (post apartheid) claim royalties from platinum mining industry mines within the nation.
Mokgwaro George Molotlegi (1936 to 1997) was the brother of Kgosi Edward Patrick Lebone Molotlegi who ruled the Bafokeng from 1988 to 1994. During his reign, South Africa's ruling National Party had created the Bophuthatswana government as the authority over all Batswana people, including the Bafokeng. Kgosi Lebone's opposition to the move brought him into conflict with the then Bophuthatswana president, Lucas Mangope, who detained the Bafokeng king and harassed him until he was forced to flee to neighbouring Botswana. Mangope then recognized Mokgwaro George Molotlegi as Kgosi of the Bafokeng. This situation prevailed until 1994 when Mangope was forced out of power when Bophuthatswana was reintegrated into South Africa. This enabled Kgosi Lebone to return to Phokeng and to once again lead his people. His return was marked by tumultuous celebrations, but they were short lived as Kgosi Lebone died in November 1995. The would-be Kgosi Mokgwaro George Molotlegi returned to his home in the area and remained there until his death in December 1997.
In 1925, the world's largest deposits of platinum group metals, such as platinum, rhodium and palladium were discovered on Bafokeng lands. Mining companies now pay royalties to the nation in exchange for the right to mine these metals. A court settlement in 1999 with Impala Platinum Mining (Implats), the second-largest platinum company in South Africa, gave the Royal Bafokeng Nation a 22 percent royalty on all platinum taken from their territory and an ownership stake in Implats. The value of the Bafokeng's stake in Impala had tripled to more than $50 million by 2001. The Bafokeng receive annual royalties of approximately $63 million from platinum mining.
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