The patrilineal succession of the Bafokeng Monarchs have been traced back to more than 35 rulers. Following is a list of the recent Kings and the periods of their reigns:
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2000 – to date
1995 – 2000
1956 – 1995
1938 – 1956
1897 – 1938
1891 – 1896
1834 – 1891
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Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi
Kgosi Mollwane Molotlegi
Kgosi Lebone Edward Molotlegi
Kgosi Manotshe Molotlegi
Kgosi Molotlegi
Kgosi Tumagole
Kgosi Mokgatle
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Royal history
The Bafokeng people can trace their history back to 1140. Kgosi (King) Sekete III, who ruled in the early 1700s, was the first king. The current Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi is the 36th King of the Bafokeng and the 15th direct descendent in the lineage of kings. Sekete III was followed by kings Diale, Ramorwa, Sekete IV and Thethe. Arguably the most influential king in Bafokeng history, Kgosi August Mokgatle, reigned from 1834 to 1891. By pooling community resources, he started buying land which the Bafokeng had occupied for centuries. Although Kgosi Mokgatle died 33 years before the world's largest deposits of platinum group metals were discovered under Bafokeng land, he enabled his people to lease their mineral rights and eventually claim royalties, which have been invested to establish a competent administration, civil service and infrastructure.
Geological history
Mining for diamonds in South African started in the 1860s. Thousands of fortune seekers from around the world flocked to Cape Town, the capital of the British governed Cape colony, before undertaking the 1,500km trek north of the arid Western and Northern Cape to the mining town of Kimberly.
In the 1920s, geologist Hans Merensky discovered the Bushveld Igneous Complex in the Rustenburg valley - arguably the world's greatest ore body of platinum group metals (PGMSs). In particular, substantial reserves such as platinum, ferrochrome, rhodium and palladium were discovered on land owned by RBN.
Over the next 70 years, various attempts were made by the governments of the day, aided and assisted by the major mining companies, to dispossess RBN of their land rights. All were ultimately unsuccessful and the mining companies agreed to pay royalties to the RBN in exchange for the right to mine on their land.
Acquisition of land
The accumulation of farms by the Bafokeng took place over a considerable period, from the time of the arrival of the Voortrekkers up to the 1940s. By the end of the 19th century, most of the land in South Africa had come under the possession of whites, through conquest or other forms of alienation. Consequently, enormous changes followed regarding African access to land, land tenure and productive relations on the land. Many of these changes were due to state intervention or policy shifts which continually eroded the Africans' security of tenure. Black people countered land alienation in several ways, one of which was land purchasing.
Since the late 1860s, the Bafokeng has been acquiring land through ingenious means thereby creating the ‘bedrock’ on which their prosperity was constructed. While the South African Republic (SAR) authorities were debating whether to allow Africans to buy land, Africans began buying land through the white missionaries working among them. They would give the purchase price (usually in cattle) through their Kgosi to the missionary, who would buy the land and register it in his name on their behalf. The Bafokeng also paid for farms in cash as early as the late 1860s when young men went to work on the diamond mines to earn money partly with this intention in mind. Although the missionaries held all proprietary rights over the [Africans] farms there were generally no written agreements - a situation that was open to abuse. Until this scenario changed, Africans had no alternative but to buy the land through the missionaries.
The Royal Bafokeng Administration's (RBA) Research & Knowledge Management Department has been collaborating in the production of several books and publications. So far, the following books have been produced and are available to the public: