Sometime last week when I received the invitation to deliver the Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje Commemorative Lecture, I suppose, I was in the middle of what has become my vocation as retired Head of State. Farming. As you are all aware, it is ploughing season and lately the skies have opened up, giving us hope for good harvest. In other words, “Moselewa pula o epiwa go sa le gale”.
At first, I asked myself, if I were to tell the story of a luminary like Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje, where shall I begin? So where should I begin? One might start with chronology of Sol Plaatje’s life as a singer in the Lutheran Mission School choir, messenger or letterman as he was called then in Kimberly and court interpreter here in Mafikeng.
Or perhaps his life as a journalist, writer, linguist, translator and political activist in South Africa. But in this context, I will focus on his life as a writer and his contribution to political discourse and Languages within South Africa and the entire region. I must admit that I have no personal knowledge of Sol T. Plaatje. I heard of him through three sources. One was through his masterpiece, Dintshontsho tsaga Juliase Kesara, a translation of the William Shakespeare’s Play, Julius Caesar from English into Setswana. He so ably contextualised the concepts to read as the story would have been told by a Motswana story-teller to a Batswana audience and used expressions like Dikuruberege Tsa Kgalagadi to make the whole story sound real. The other source was snippets from stories told by Professor Z.K. Matthews.
Both endeared me to the man to the extent that I would still have considered it a great honour to have been invited to be part of the audience at this auspicious occasion. After ZK’s departure to the Other World, Mme Mma Matthews gave me some of the cuttings of the works of Sol Plaatje to read possibly feeling that I would regard them as archival material. From all the three, I became Sol T Plaatje-infected! Unfortunately, the cuttings came to me at a time when I was deeply focused, not only in politics, but also in the business of trying to run a country from a deficit economy into a viable state and I still rue the moment I entrusted these treasured material to my officials. As I eventually left office and proceeded helter-skelter to say goodbye to the people of Botswana, the cuttings got misplaced, if not destroyed. At this point, before we embark upon the exciting journey of the life of Solomon Plaatje, I would like to make a very brief diversion.
I must admit, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, that Solomon Plaatje has (subconsciously) had slight influence on my political life, which, of course, started almost thirty years after he departed for his heavenly abode. In the early days of pre-Independent Botswana, I served as Editor of our newsletter, Therisanyo (Consultation) which sought to position the newly-established Botswana Democratic Party as a political home of choice for the people of Botswana.
My brief as the Party Secretary General was to mobilise the people and enhance our chances of winning the election in order to govern a new Republic. It was not an easy task as I have alluded to. When we resolved to come up with a mouthpiece, Therisanyo, to disseminate information about our policies and plans, the strategy worked as we were able to reach out to the people, who embraced our policies as a new organisation. I suspect that when I joined politics, I inadvertently aped Sol Plaatje because Botswana quickly adopted political concepts, if expressed in the context of their everyday institution, like the Kgotla and other concepts like that, have long been practiced by Batswana.
Either way, there is a possibility that I might be Plaatje-ist! In essence, the man’s interests, achievements and the great respect he had for the soul of Setswana and Botswana are unparalleled. I trust that you will forgive me for succumbing to the natural temptation of connecting the lives of two Batswana; one a prolific writer, author, journalist and politician, and another one a teacher, journalist, farmer and political leader. What connects our lives is the inescapable fact that we achieved whatever we set out to do by the Grace of God and the Will of the People. And today as we meet here in Mafikeng, which naturally became Sol Plaatje’s second home, I wish to once again extend my felicitation to the people of this beautiful and progressive Province, for this noble gesture of honouring this great Son of the Soil in a place which was very close to his heart.
Looking back, I must admit that over a period of time, the people of Botswana and South Africa have been truly blessed with versatile writers and story-tellers. In a word, remarkable people whose spirit and vision will live on for generations to come. A litany of names could be mentioned like Silas Molema, Dr Martinus Seboni and Sol Plaatje. In subsequent years, a new generation of writers emerged such as Leetile Raditladi, DPS Monyaise, Moabi Kitchin, to mention but a few.
At a time when most of us came to South Africa for studies at Tigerkloof, Fort Hare and Lovedale, it was peculiarly difficult to be anything other than slightly awkward and apologetic when confronted with this great expanse of energy. There has been a sad and unfortunate moment in South African history called apartheid; and in response to that has been relentless fight for liberation and freedom. At the centre of the struggle for freedom and liberation has been the involvement of South Africa’s arts and cultural activists, particularly writers.
South African writers at the time responded to the clarion call in an attempt to save this Continent from the evil jaws of racial discrimination. With regard to what I have said about our student days, South Africa was going through what can be referred to as Renaissance or reawakening, led by writers, artists, sculptors and poets, and for some of us who were here for studies had the good fortune to share this symbolic cultural and historical moment, and of course take it home and reflect on it again and again.
Looking back now, upon that period and about eight decades later, one is impressed by the sheer commitment and perseverance of our young people to preserve the legacy of South Africa’s foremost literary icon, Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje. But what is still more interesting, and more to the point, is the commitment and zeal demonstrated by those tasked with preservation of Sol Plaatje’s legacy.
The custodians. The Trustees at Sol Plaatje’s Education Trust. The Sol Plaatje Museum and many others who have developed and sustained interest in chronicling the life of Solomon Plaatje. A master of his craft, a rare genius, Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje’s name stands high in the records of fine achievements in the fields of literature, history, politics and journalism. We will always cherish his immense contribution toward the development of South African literature, when it was so greatly needed at the time.
As a people, we shall always remain greatly indebted to Sol T. Plaatje for the treasures and memories of Koranta ya Becoana, Tsala Ya Bechuana, Mhudi, Dintshontsho tsaga Juliase Kesara and Diphoshophosho, to mention but a few. I must note that over the years, there has been a renewal of strength and self confidence among South African writers and artists.
They have, as it were, come out of that shadow which their contemporaries in other parts of world once cast, and are producing work of a power and substance, which have exceeded our expectations.
On that note, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to once again thank you for providing me with this unique opportunity to reflect on the legacy of Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje. I hope that we will all continue to emulate the example that Sol T. Plaatje set, which helped to define what the New World Order, let alone new South Africa must be. I thank you. PULA!
*Sir Ketumile was speaking at the Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje commemorative lecture in Mafikeng ÔÇô South Africa
