Tsala ea Becoana: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox newspaper |
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| name = Tsala ea Becoana |
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{{Use South African English|date=August 2012}} |
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'''Zephania Lekoame Mothopeng''' (10 September 1913 – 23 October 1990) was a [[South Africa]]n political activist and member of the [[Pan-Africanist Congress]] (PAC). |
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| image = File:PT-Tsala ea Becoana-First Issue-1910.jpg |
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| caption = First Issue, 1910 |
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| founder = [[Sol Plaatje]] |
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| foundation = {{start date|1910}} |
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| political = Neutral |
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| language = [[Tswana language|Tswana]] / [[English language|English]] |
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| ceased publication = 1915 |
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| publishing_city = [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] |
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| publishing_country = [[South Africa]] |
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'''Tsala ea Batho / Tsala ea Becauna''' (“Friend of the people” or “Friend of the Becuana”) was a Tswana and English language newspaper based in [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberly]], [[Cape Province]], between 1910 and 1915. It was a politically nonpartisan newspaper, running topical news and opinions that would interest black people in South Africa. |
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==Early Life== |
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Zephania Lekoame Mothopeng was born near Vrede in Free State and he had five siblings. He was educated at St. Mary's Anglican School, in [[Daggakraal]] before he moves to St Chatswold Training College in [[Ladysmith]]. Mothopeng matriculated from St. Peters Secondary School at Rosettenville in [[Johannesburg]]. |
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== History == |
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After matriculation he trained as a teacher at Adams College in [[Kwa-Zulu Natal]] where he he and his three other colleagues defiantly sat on the seats reserved for Europeans staff members. For this, he and his friends were dismissed but later pardoned. In 1941, after training as a teacher, Mothopeng took up a teaching post at Orlando Secondary School in Soweto. |
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Tsala ea Becauna was founded by [[Sol Plaatje]] in 1910 in [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberly]], [[Northern Cape]]. It was the second Tswana and English language newspaper Sol Plaatje founded and edited. Articles in Sepedi often featured in the publication too. The newspaper was published multilingually as Plaatje was concerned that Setswana could disappear completely due to decreasing use. The first newspaper, Koranta ea Becauna was founded in Mafikeng in 1901, but the newspaper collapsed at the end of May 1909 because of financial difficulties. |
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Along with his family, Plaatje left Mafikeng for Kimberly, where the Seleka Barolong of the Tswana Nation funded the establishment of Tsala ea Batho.<ref name="Alternative">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5ROAAAAIAAJ&q=tsala&pg=PA75 |author=Switzer, L. |title=South Africa's Alternate Press: Voices of Protest and Resistance, 1880-1960 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1997|isbn=9780521553513 }}</ref> The Seleka Barolong were wealthy business people who lived in the [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist]] mission community of [[Thaba Nchu]] in the [[Orange Free State (province)|Orange Free State]].<ref name= "Alternative"/> |
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==Political History== |
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Zephania Mothopeng began his struggle against apartheid as a founding member of the [[African National Congress Youth League]] in the 1944. He left the [[ANC]] because of the rise of the Charterists from 1955 when they took control of the [[African National Congress]]. He left the [[ANC]] with [[Robert Sobukwe]] in 1959 and became a founding member of the [[Pan-Africanist Congress]],([[PAC]]). After forming the [[PAC]], he was at the forefront of their Positive Action campaign against the pass laws. Positive Action was defined by Pan Africanists as the application of non-violent mass action in the form of strikes, boycotts and non-collaboration with the oppressive authorities. |
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The first edition of Tsala ea Becauna was published in June 1910.<ref name="Pariah">{{cite web |url=http://www.thejournalist.org.za/pioneers/sol-t-plaatje |author=Jaffer, Z. and Tshabala, S. |title=Sol Plaatje: Pariah in the Land of His Birth |work=The Journalist |accessdate=23 November 2017}}</ref> It was a four-page weekly aimed at Tswana speakers in the Becuanaland protectorate and other Tswana speakers in South Africa.<ref name= "Alternative"/> The newspaper eventually began to have national reach. |
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He served as President of the Transvaal Teachers Association in 1950. As a member of the [[PAC]] Zephania Mothopeng was arrested several times: first for two years after his 1960 arrest for taking part in the [[Defiance Campaign]]. |
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== Editorial == |
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After his release, he was detained in again 1964 for furthering the aims of a banned organisation, the [[PAC]]. His arrest followed a massive police swoop on the PAC underground movement [[Poqo]]. Zephania Mothopeng, [[John Ganya]], [[Mark Shinners]] and others played a leading role in establishing contact with the external mission of the PAC in [[Tanzania]], recruiting new members to the PAC, establishing underground cells, and sending recruits outside the country to join [[Poqo]] in exile. |
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In the first year of publication, the newspaper was focussed on the impending union of the colonies and republics — Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal and Orange Free State — together as the Union of South Africa.<ref name= "Alternative"/> Tsala ea Becauna was against the union because it would grant dominion to the white minority over Africans. The union between the British and the Afrikaner excluded Africans from the vote and stripped Africans from their land. Tsala ea Becauna advocated for the [[Bechuanaland Protectorate]] (now the Republic of Botswana), [[Swaziland]] (now Eswatini), and [[Basutoland]] (now the Kingdom of Lesotho) to join South Africa. |
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With Plaatje as the editor, Tsala ea Becuana also reported on the Native Land Act and the paper referred to the act as the “extermination” of black Africans in the country. |
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He spent part of his sentence with [[Nelson Mandela]] on [[Robben Island]] before being released in 1967. <ref name= “Zephania”>[http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/24/obituaries/zephania-mothopeng-77-dies-headed-south-african-movement.html. Zephania Mothopeng, 77, Dies; Headed South African Movement. 1990. Online. Accessed 1 November 2017]</ref> |
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Tsala ea Becauna often published news on strikes and letters from miners among reports of African welfare, industrial colour bars, poor wage earnings and low pensions.<ref name="Resistance">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUvA7PHnCrUC&q=tsalade&pg=PA119 |author=Switzer, L. and Adhikari, M. |title=South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the last Generation Under Apartheid |location=Ohio |publisher=Centre for International Studies |year=2000|isbn=9780896802131 }}</ref> The newspaper could not ignore miners and their concerns in Kimberly because of predominance of mine labourers.<ref name="Resistance"/> The newspaper also carried national and international correspondence obtained from other publications and editorials and commentaries on their editorial page. The newspaper reported on matters of interest such as assaults committed by white miners against black labourers. The newspaper enjoyed watchdog status. |
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After his release he was banished to [[Qwaqwa]] from [[Soweto]] for two years. <ref name= “terror”>[http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/zeph-mothopeng-president-pac-dies Zeph Mothopeng, President of the PAC dies. SAHistory. Accessed 3 November.] |
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The newspaper expressed modest views as is exemplified by their opposition to strikes.<ref name="Resistance"/> |
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When his banishment ended he returned to [[Soweto]]. He was arrested again in connection with [[Soweto uprising]]s after mobilising and organising students in Soweto. For this offense, he was accused no 01 at the Bethal Trial where he was charged with conspiracy and treason. He was arrested under the terrorism act and his charges included inciting the June 16 [[Soweto Uprising]]s. He was severely tortured in detention. <ref name= “Robben”>[https://books.google.co.za/books?id=aQKLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA153&dq=zephania+mothopeng&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwif8cmY253XAhUEJMAKHVbRCV4Q6AEIMDAD#v=onepage&q=zephania%20mothopeng&f=false.]</ref> While in prison, Mothopeng was among those who reported police torture because four other detainees had died in detention. |
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After [[Sol Plaatje]] became the first General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later [[African National Congress]], the newspaper was increasingly viewed as an organ of the party by its readers.<ref name="Resistance"/> The newspaper contains records of the early meetings of the African National Congress. |
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The Bethal Trial was the only secret political trial ever held in apartheid South Africa <ref name= “Pan”>[https://muse.jhu.edu/article/225628/summary. Ebrahim, A. “Pan Africanist Congress” Accessed 1 November.]</ref> He was elected as the president of the [[PAC]] while in prison. |
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== Late History == |
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He became ill with cancer of the throat while in prison and was released under President F. W. de Klerk in 1989. He rejected calls to join political talks arguing that black people should have all the power <ref name=sah>[http://sahistory.org.za/people/zephania-zeph-lekoane-mothopeng Zephania (Zeph) Lekoame Mothopeng], SAHistory.org, accessed 5 August 2013</ref> Under Mothopeng the [[PAC]] refused to join the negotiations on democracy with the [[Nationalist Party]] under President F. W. de Klerk as the [[Pan-Africanist Congress]] believed that only guerrilla warfare would end white minority rule. <ref name= “Zephania”/> After his early release in November 1988, he settled in Soweto but never recovered his health. |
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''Tsala ea Becauna'' was renamed ''Tsala ea Batho'' (“Friend of the People”) in April 1913.<ref name="Sol">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UotZ6YAyMroC&q=tsala&pg=PA21 |author=Van Wyk, C. |title=Sol Plaatje |location=Johannesburg |publisher=Awareness Publishing |year=2001|isbn=9781919910826 }}</ref> The name change reflected a growing national awareness and a shift from tribe to nation.<ref name="European">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gt07FgJovZEC&q=%22tsala+ea+batho%22&pg=PA196 |author=Gerard, AS. |title=European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa |location=Budapest |publisher=Akademiai Kaido |year=1986|isbn=9630538334 }}</ref> |
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==Death and Legacy== |
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He was known as the “Lion of [[Azania]] <ref name= “YouTube”>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvYz-grfrHw “Former PAC President, Zeph Mothopeng Honoured with Street Name. 2016. Accessed 1 November 2017.]</ref>. On the 23rd of October 1990, Mothopeng died from chest and lung cancer and pneumonia at 78. |
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The publication struggled to stay open despite a circulation reportedly in the thousands and consistent advertising. Another contributing factor was that Plaatje left for Britain in May 1914, on the brink of World War I, as a member of the SANNC deputation protesting the Natives’ Land Act, and Tsala ea Batho came to an end during the prolonged time he was forced to spend overseas. |
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During a ceremony on 22 October 2016, he was honoured with the renaming of Pela Street, close to [[Vilakazi Street]] in [[Orlando West]], Soweto, to Zephania Mothopeng Street. <ref name= “heritage”>[http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/notice/street-re-naming-honour-zeph-mothopeng. Street Re-naming to Honour Zephania Mothopeng. 2016. Accessed 1 November 2017.]</ref> |
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The English-Setswana weekly, Tsala ea Becauna, was one of the organs of black political news and opinion for the turbulent period of its existence. |
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The renaming is in line with the City of Johannesburg’s Policy on the Naming and Renaming of Streets and Other Public Places. <ref name= “heritage”>[http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/notice/street-re-naming-honour-zeph-mothopeng. Street Re-naming to Honour Zephania Mothopeng. 2016. Accessed 1 November 2017.]</ref> |
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Zephania Mothopeng Street links with the [[Hector Pieterson]] Precinct. |
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== |
== See also == |
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*[[Xhosa language newspapers]] |
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*[[Tswana language]] |
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== References == |
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On 10 September 1941 Zephania Mothopeng married Urbania Babe Lonake. In 1942, the couple moved into a municipal four roomed house in Orlando West. While in prison, Urbania was out of work because y his wife she suffered from severe arthritis. He is buried with his wife Urbania Mothopeng in Avalon Cemetery |
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{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:Defunct newspapers published in South Africa]] |
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==References== |
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[[Category:Tswana-language mass media|newspapers]] |
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{{Ref List}} |
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[[Category:Newspapers established in 1910]] |
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[[Category:Publications disestablished in 1915]] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mothopeng, Zephania}} |
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[[Category:1913 births]] |
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[[Category:1990 deaths]] |
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[[Category:People from Phumelela Local Municipality]] |
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[[Category:South African Sotho people]] |
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[[Category:Pan Africanist Congress of Azania politicians]] |
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[[Category:Anti-apartheid activists]] |
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[[Category:South African prisoners and detainees]] |
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[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of South Africa]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:51, 7 December 2024
 First Issue, 1910 | |
| Founder(s) | Sol Plaatje |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1910 |
| Political alignment | Neutral |
| Language | Tswana / English |
| Ceased publication | 1915 |
| City | Kimberley |
| Country | South Africa |
Tsala ea Batho / Tsala ea Becauna (“Friend of the people” or “Friend of the Becuana”) was a Tswana and English language newspaper based in Kimberly, Cape Province, between 1910 and 1915. It was a politically nonpartisan newspaper, running topical news and opinions that would interest black people in South Africa.
History
[edit]Tsala ea Becauna was founded by Sol Plaatje in 1910 in Kimberly, Northern Cape. It was the second Tswana and English language newspaper Sol Plaatje founded and edited. Articles in Sepedi often featured in the publication too. The newspaper was published multilingually as Plaatje was concerned that Setswana could disappear completely due to decreasing use. The first newspaper, Koranta ea Becauna was founded in Mafikeng in 1901, but the newspaper collapsed at the end of May 1909 because of financial difficulties.
Along with his family, Plaatje left Mafikeng for Kimberly, where the Seleka Barolong of the Tswana Nation funded the establishment of Tsala ea Batho.[1] The Seleka Barolong were wealthy business people who lived in the Wesleyan Methodist mission community of Thaba Nchu in the Orange Free State.[1]
The first edition of Tsala ea Becauna was published in June 1910.[2] It was a four-page weekly aimed at Tswana speakers in the Becuanaland protectorate and other Tswana speakers in South Africa.[1] The newspaper eventually began to have national reach.
Editorial
[edit]In the first year of publication, the newspaper was focussed on the impending union of the colonies and republics — Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal and Orange Free State — together as the Union of South Africa.[1] Tsala ea Becauna was against the union because it would grant dominion to the white minority over Africans. The union between the British and the Afrikaner excluded Africans from the vote and stripped Africans from their land. Tsala ea Becauna advocated for the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now the Republic of Botswana), Swaziland (now Eswatini), and Basutoland (now the Kingdom of Lesotho) to join South Africa.
With Plaatje as the editor, Tsala ea Becuana also reported on the Native Land Act and the paper referred to the act as the “extermination” of black Africans in the country.
Tsala ea Becauna often published news on strikes and letters from miners among reports of African welfare, industrial colour bars, poor wage earnings and low pensions.[3] The newspaper could not ignore miners and their concerns in Kimberly because of predominance of mine labourers.[3] The newspaper also carried national and international correspondence obtained from other publications and editorials and commentaries on their editorial page. The newspaper reported on matters of interest such as assaults committed by white miners against black labourers. The newspaper enjoyed watchdog status.
The newspaper expressed modest views as is exemplified by their opposition to strikes.[3]
After Sol Plaatje became the first General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later African National Congress, the newspaper was increasingly viewed as an organ of the party by its readers.[3] The newspaper contains records of the early meetings of the African National Congress.
Late History
[edit]Tsala ea Becauna was renamed Tsala ea Batho (“Friend of the People”) in April 1913.[4] The name change reflected a growing national awareness and a shift from tribe to nation.[5]
The publication struggled to stay open despite a circulation reportedly in the thousands and consistent advertising. Another contributing factor was that Plaatje left for Britain in May 1914, on the brink of World War I, as a member of the SANNC deputation protesting the Natives’ Land Act, and Tsala ea Batho came to an end during the prolonged time he was forced to spend overseas.
The English-Setswana weekly, Tsala ea Becauna, was one of the organs of black political news and opinion for the turbulent period of its existence.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Switzer, L. (1997). South Africa's Alternate Press: Voices of Protest and Resistance, 1880-1960. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521553513.
- ^ Jaffer, Z. and Tshabala, S. "Sol Plaatje: Pariah in the Land of His Birth". The Journalist. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Switzer, L. and Adhikari, M. (2000). South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the last Generation Under Apartheid. Ohio: Centre for International Studies. ISBN 9780896802131.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Van Wyk, C. (2001). Sol Plaatje. Johannesburg: Awareness Publishing. ISBN 9781919910826.
- ^ Gerard, AS. (1986). European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Budapest: Akademiai Kaido. ISBN 9630538334.