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13 October 2023 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo PHOTO IAN VAN STRAATEN
Dr TK Mopeli lecture Group photo
Members of the Mopeli Royal Household with University of Free State Management.

The life and legacy of Dr TK Mopeli were remembered and celebrated during the TK Mopeli Memorial Lecture held on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus on 28 September.

As the campus celebrated 20 years as one of the delivery sites of the UFS, the memorial lecture was a fitting tribute to one of the leading champions who played a pivotal role in the founding of the Qwaqwa Campus. Dr Mopeli (1954-2014) is the former Chief Minister of the South African Bantustan of Qwaqwa. The Qwaqwa Campus was established in 1982 as a satellite of the historically black University of the North (UNIN), now the University of Limpopo. In 2003, the UFS underwent integration, which saw the Qwaqwa Campus merging with the Bloemfontein Campus to form a single, comprehensive university.

He also played an integral role in building more than 600 schools in Qwaqwa and Botshabelo in the Free State.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Elias Malete, Senior Lecturer and Academic Head of the Department of African Languages in the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State, said Dr Mopeli contributed immensely to the education of black people.

“According to the work of other scholars such as Mbeki, the purpose of education is to create consciousness by revealing the truth through facts, to enable an appreciation of beauty, and to give people the capacity to create what is good for themselves, the world, and humanity. Dr TK Mopeli was a leader who invested in his people,” he said.

Members of the Mopeli Royal Household formed part of the lecture, as Dr Malete described Dr Mopeli as a humble leader, passionate about the advancement of his people and the preservation of the Basotho nation.

“Effective leadership must have the capacity to transform individuals, communities, and societies. When Dr TK Mopeli took over as a leader, black people were landless. Their physical spaces had been reduced to bantustans, and businesses in Qwaqwa were owned by white people. His leadership oversaw the development of the agriculture sector, industries, and tourism. Things began to get better.”

Dr Malete thanked the UFS for commemorating Dr Mopeli’s history as part of the celebrations. “He wasn’t a boastful man, but we need to sing his praises. Let us pay homage to this legend and unsung hero of the Basotho nation whose tireless efforts and monumental contributions will remain valuable to his people.”

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‘Africa’s Many Liberations’ seminar series launched
2016-05-11

Description: Seminar Series Tags: Seminar Series

The Africa’s Many Liberations seminar series, presented on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), is a direct response to some of the demands made by the #MustFall campaigns during the past year. A constant refrain among activists has been that the curriculum must be ‘decolonised’, and that it should have stronger foundations in African experiences. This seminar series aims to deepen understanding of histories and anti-colonial struggles, including those waged worldwide today.

It was conceived to deepen students’ knowledge of African and South African history, and to help them to engage with ideas from the diaspora and anti-colonial struggles elsewhere. It was planned as a popular seminar for students across faculties. For this reason, the series strives to avoid language or literature that might exclude students from disciplines outside of historical, sociological, political, and cultural studies.

The series is convened by the International Studies Group (ISG), in association with the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ). The coordinator is Prof Neil Roos (associate professor of history in the International Studies Group, and co-director of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars Programme).

Prof Roos presented the first seminar, entitled Du Bois and the ‘Problem of the Colour Line’ on Thursday 28 April 2016. The next theme under discussion will be Fanon and the Relevance of Personal and Collective Decolonisation in Today’s South Africa, which will be presented by Dr Tinashe Nyamunda.

The remainder of the eight-part series will be presented by Dr Rachel Hatcher (postdoc in the IRSJ), Dr Sahar Sattarzadeh (postdoc in the IRSJ ), Dr Ivo Mhike (postdoc in ISG), Busi Ntsele (lecturer in sociology), Leigh-Ann Naidoo (doctoral student and activist, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), and Prof Richard Pithouse (associate professor in politics, Rhodes University, South Africa).

Date: Thursday 12 May 2016
Time: 16:30
Venue: Albert Wessels Auditorium, Bloemfontein Campus
Entrance is free
RSVP: sattarzadehsd@ufs.ac.za

Seminar series programme

 

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