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08 January 2019
Oupa Mohoje
Oupa Mohoje is the first former Kovsie to be named regular Cheetah captain since Juan Smith in 2008.

Former captain of the Kovsie Shimlas, Oupa Mohoje, was chosen to lead the Free State Cheetahs for the 2018/2019 rugby season.

 

He is the first Kovsie to be the regular Cheetah captain since Juan Smith 10 years ago.

“It certainly is a big honour, but it comes with a lot of responsibilities,” said Oupa. One thing he is glad about, is the fact that the players and the Cheetah coach, Franco Smith, fully support him, which makes his job a lot easier, he explained.

 

“Choosing Oupa as captain came naturally – he is a true favourite with everyone in the team,” said former captain, Juan. Oupa grew up in the Free State, he studied here and became a Springbok here, and that makes him a Free State player through and through, explained Juan.

 

From Shimlas to Springboks in three months, Mohoje, a loose forward who can also assist as lock, captained the South African A side in 2017, and the Shimlas in 2013. He represented the Shimlas between 2011 and 2014 and was voted the Player of the Varsity Cup in 2013. His final match in the famous blue jersey was on 17 March 2014. A little more than three months later he became a Springbok, playing the first of 19 tests.

 

According to Harold Verster, Managing Director of the Cheetahs, Oupa is very popular among the players, he is very disciplined, and has all the qualities to make a great captain.

 

Oupa’s teammate Ox Nche added, “He has good people skills and communicates very well. I think he is a very good leader”.

News Archive

ANC Centenary Dialogue reflects on past leadership
2011-10-12

 

Making their mark at the ANC Centenary Dialogue were, from left to right: Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, Senior Professor: Centre for Africa Studies (UFS); Dr Adekeye Adebajo, Director: Centre for Conflict Resolution (Cape Town); and Prof.  E C Ejiogu, Senior Researcher: Centre for Africa Studies (UFS). 

The Centre for Africa Studies at our university recently hosted its ANC Centenary Dialogue at the Bloemfontein Campus. Keynote speaker, Dr Adekeye Adebajo, delivered a paper titled Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and the ANC’s Footprint in Africa. The lecture focused on two of South Africa’s democratically-elected presidents.

Mr Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s first democratically-elected president. This Nobel Peace Laureate played a prophetic leadership role in Africa in 1993. He was inspired by Mr Mahatma Gandhi’s tactics of ‘passive resistance’, which played a role in the ANC’s Defiance Campaign.
 
Mr Mandela’s visit to other African countries gave him insights into continental diplomacy and the tactics of other liberation movements. “The ANC used Madiba to embody the face of the struggle. He emerged from prison without any bitterness towards his enemies. He tirelessly promoted national reconciliation,” said Dr Adebajo.
 
Unlike other post-independence ‘Founding Fathers’, Mr Mandela bowed out gracefully at the end of his first presidential term in 1999, setting a standard for future African leaders aspiring to greatness. “Mr Mandela’s lasting legacies are his efforts at promoting national and international peacemaking,” elaborated Dr Adebajo.
 
Mr Thabo Mbeki challenged Africans to discover a sense of their own self-confidence after centuries of slavery and colonialism. Under his foreign policy, South Africa established solid credentials to become Africa’s leading power. He sought multilateral solutions to resolve regional conflicts. Mr Mbeki also sent peacekeepers abroad and increased South Africa’s credibility as a major geostrategic player in Africa.
 
Many question whether Mr Mbeki’s heirs, President Jacob Zuma and beyond, will maintain the same level of commitment to the continent that he demonstrated. Mr Mbeki has bequeathed this foreign policy legacy to his successors. “These very different ANC leaders have left a heavy African footprint on the sands of time,” concluded Dr Adebajo.

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