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Honouring Moshoeshoe I’s decolonial philosophy

01 April 2021 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Supplied

Dr Mushonga_web read more — Dr Munyaradzi Mushonga drew from Moshoeshoe I’s decolonial philosophy in his virtual lecture hosted by Institute of Peace and Leadership at the National University of Lesotho.

King Moshoeshoe I was a decolonial philosopher-king well before the decolonisation of the 20th century and the current insurgent and resurgent decolonial turn gained momentum. This was the overarching message of Dr Munyaradzi Mushonga, who delivered the annual Moshoeshoe I Memorial lecture. The lecture, hosted by the Moshoeshoe I Institute of Peace and Leadership at the National University of Lesotho, took place virtually on Wednesday 17 March 2021.

Dr Mushonga, Senior Lecturer and Progamme Director of Africa Studies in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State, says his lecture titled, In living memory of Moshoeshoe I: The decolonial philosopher-king of love, peace, co-existence and pluriversal humanism, was about how wisdom, knowledge, love, peace, ethics of living together, and pluriversal humanism were all merged into alliance in the one person of King Moshoeshoe.

Moshoehoeism a prequel for modern decolonialism

Being an African Studies scholar, Dr Mushonga implored modern scholars to appreciate ‘Moshoehoeism’ and said that such lectures provide the opportunity to relive the past and honour prominent individuals such as King Moshoeshoe I.

Moshoehoeism is a philosophy that is dedicated to liberating Frantz Fanon’s ‘the wretched of the earth’. It is important that Moshoehoeism is used by African Studies scholars for the “purposes of re-humanising, remembering, and re-educating previously de-humanised, dis-membered and mis-educated sons and daughters of the earth.”

Dr Mushongha says that King Moshoeshoe I was always seeking true understanding (knowledge) – to seek true knowledge is to have a decolonial mind and consciousness. “He saved his kingdom from extinction through a paradigm of knowledge; a paradigm that informed him that it was time to make concessions on sovereignty in order to save the nation and nationhood.”

“To have the wisdom, knowledge, and courage to love and make peace under social and political conditions that did not permit love and peace is to be truly decolonial,” said Dr Mushongha.

▶WATCH: YouTube recording of Moshoeshoe I Memorial Lecture

Note to viewers: the order of the recordings is as follows:

1. Preamble

2. Part 1

3. Part 2a

4. Part 2b

5. Part 3 and 4

News Archive

Lunch-time lecture on the subject of contested memories

2011-08-23

Guests at the lecture from the left: Dr. Sheila Aronstam, a former UFS Council member; Dr. Eva Hoffman and Henya Bryer a survivor of the Holocaust
Photo: Amanda Tongha

Acclaimed Polish author and academic Dr Eva Hoffman visited the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus on 16 Augustus 2010 to deliver a lunch-time lecture on the subject of contested memories.

Speaking about the after-effects of unjust violence on second-generation Holocaust survivors, Dr Hoffman drew some parallels between the history of Eastern Europe and that of South Africa, stating that with some categories of conflict and prejudice the context in this region of the world might not be too remote. Dr Hoffman, born to Jewish parents who survived the Holocaust, told the audience that in most instances the past was still alive in the present.

Talking about traumatic memories, Dr Hoffman revisited her family’s suffering during the Holocaust and stated that the second generation lives with the paradoxes of indirect knowledge. According to her there has to be acknowledgment of the injustice to put the conflict and tension inherited from a repressed history truly to rest. Referring to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), she said wrongs could not be forgiven until they were admitted.

Dr Hoffman, who is the author of books such as Lost in Translation: life in a new language and Stetl: the life and death of a small town and the world of Polish Jews, praised the university for being on the forefront of social issues in democratic South Africa.

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