King Moshoeshoe Day Celebrations

The UFS launched the Moshoeshoe project in 2004 to honour the legacy of King Moshoeshoe as a model of African leadership and as a demonstration of the university’s commitment to transformation. It was also launched as a contribution to South Africa’s first decade of democracy and to the celebration of the university’s centenary, having been founded in 1904.

The focus on King Moshoeshoe was specifically chosen to honour his leadership role in reconciliation and nation-building at a critical time in the history of Southern Africa. It is this heritage and history which the UFS hopes can be become a shared history for all our people.

The objectives of this multifaceted, multidisciplinary project can be summarised as follows:

• To give recognition to the life and legacy of King Moshoeshoe.
• To contribute to the preservation of the heritage and history of the region and the continent.
• To contribute to the national and international discourse on models of leadership, reconciliation and nation-building.
• To promote academic opportunities for research, teaching and community service.
• To foster an awareness and appreciation among all South Africans of the shared history of the province and the country.
• To give expression to the commitment of the UFS to embrace and celebrate the history, culture and languages of all people of the Free State.

The 2012 King Moshoeshoe Memorial Lecture

The Memorial Lecture was held at our Bloemfontein Campus and attracted attendants from as far as Lesotho. The lecture was graced by the attendance of the Ambassador of the United States in Lesotho.

Prof Robert Edgar who is a professor of African Studies at Howard University in Washington D.C., was the guest speaker.

Prof Robert Edgar taught at the Georgetown University and the University of Virginia and as a Fulbright professor at the National University of Lesotho and the University of Cape Town. His research and publications have focused on twentieth-century Southern African religious and political history.

Among his books are:

• Prophets with honour: A documentary history of Lekhotla la Bafo (Lesotho)
• Sanctioning Apartheid; An African American in South Africa: The travel notes of Ralph Bunche
• Freedom in our lifetime: The writings of Anton Lembede
• African apocalypse, The story of Nontetha Nkwenkwe a twentieth century South African prophet
• The making of an African Communist: Edwin Mofutsanyana and the South African Communist Party; and
• Because they chose the plan of God: The Bulhoek massacre of 1921.