The Royal Bafokeng Nation’s Queen Mother, Semane Molotlegi, has been laid to rest at her home village of Phokeng outside Rustenburg in the North West.
Molotlegi, the mother of the Bafokeng King, Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, died last weekend at the age of 77 after a long illness.
The Queen Mother was praised for her instrumental role in the pioneering infrastructural developments for Bafokeng Nation. Some described her as a woman who showed bravery in her leadership and a strong advocate for women and children’s rights, who was also involved in charities.
Many remember her at the time she led the Bafokeng, following her husband’s exile in Botswana in the 1980s. With all the praises – her son, King Leruo Molotlegi, has a difficult task of striking a balance between leading the nation and sustaining her legacy.
“I know the big gap that has been left by the passing of the big lady. It is a vacuum as in the sun would say the space that has nothing in it. Now it is for Kgosi Tirelo Bafokeng to fill that vacuum,” says the late Queen Mother’s friend, as Professor Lesole Gadinabokao.
Although her passing is a great loss to the Bafokeng, her children and family say they will always be proud of the legacy she left behind.
“When my father died 25 years ago, a lot of tangible successes we are experiencing now were still part of his vicious vision to dignify our culture and Africanists in the globalising world. Having achieved so much in the 42 years of his reign some of the biggest breakthroughs in the development of our nation and people would have ended my father’s reign had it not been for the role of my mother,” her daughter, Princess Tirelo Molotlegi, told mourners.
Funeral of the Queen Mother Semane Molotlegi of the Royal Bafokeng:
A commitment has also been made by the Royal Family to sustain and maintain her legacy.
Family Spokesperson Kgosana Mojalefa Mogono said: ” Mmemogolo Semane left a solid foundation. She left a baton. We know what to do from now on going forward so that he legacy stays on forever.”
Only close royal family members were allowed at Direpotsane cemetery, where Mmemogolo was laid to rest next to her late husband, Kgosi Edward Molotlegi.
