Who is John Knox Bokwe?

Human Rights Day in South Africa is linked to March 21, 1960, when at least 180 black Africans were injured, and 69 killed when South African police opened fire on approximately 300 demonstrators who were protesting against the passed laws, at the township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging in the Gauteng.

Photo taken from https://www.johnknoxbokwe.com/

Another person was shot in similar demonstrations at the police station in Vanderbijlpark. Later that day at Langa, a township outside Cape Town, police batoncharged and fired tear gas at the gathered protesters, shooting three and injuring several others.

Within the context of the Eastern Cape, on March 21, 1985, police opened fire on protesters at Maduna Street at Langa Township in Kariega, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, where 20 people were killed while others were injured arrested. This significant historical event is located within the broader Human Rights Day Programme to remember and acknowledge all South Africans who fell in the struggle for liberation and whose state security agents violated human rights.

Provincial Human Rights Month was commemorated by hosting a series of activities throughout the Province in March 2022, culminating in hosting Provincial Human Rights Day on March 21, 2022. In his address during the January 08 Statement at Limpopo on January 08, 2022, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa pronounced that the nation would commemorate the centenary

of the passing away of Rev John Knox

Bokwe this year. Rev Bokwe passed away on February 22, 1922. It is against this backdrop that the Rev John Knox Bokwe Foundation wrote to the Office of the Premier and requested that the Provincial Government should commemorate the centenary on February 22, 2022.

Provincial Human Rights Day is thus commemorated at Dikeni in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality on March 21, 2022. This day was dedicated to the life

and legacy of Reverend John Knox Bokwe,

an early modern African intellectual South African journalist and Presbyterian

minister, who championed the importance of education as a human right, and one of the most celebrated Xhosa hymn writers and musicians.

John Knox Bokwe was born in Ntselamanzi, Dikeni, near Lovedale, Eastern Cape Province, on March 15, 1855, and was the youngest child of Cholwephi and Lena Bokwe. His father was one of the first students to be enrolled at the Lovedale Mission school, while his mother was the daughter of Ax, one of the first converts of Ntsikana. In 1870 he helped print and produced Indaba, a Xhosa newspaper produced at Lovedale. When, in 1874, Lovedale obtained its postal service, Bokwe was appointed manager and later became head of the telegraph office. He also became conductor of the mission’s brass band.

In 1875 Bokwe started to compose hymns. His collected compositions were produced in book form in 1885. As an established writer, he joined John Tengo Jabavu in producing the newspaper Imvo Zabantsundu (“African Opinion”) in Quince. in 1906, he was ordained as a minister of the United Free Church. When Reverend Bokwe first arrived at Ugie, the district had no school for either black or white.

At first, he opened a school for children in the town with no government grant. He then went out into the outlying areas, opening schools and churches. In 1906, through his efforts, the town of Ugie built its first European school. After the passing away of Rev Dr. James Stewart in 1905, Rev Bokwe participated in a plan to establish a college for African students as an offshoot of Lovedale. As an agent for education as a basic human right, Reverend Bokwe was in 1906 appointed as a member of a committee of intellectuals that mooted and planned for the establishment of a university for Africans in the Eastern Cape. The South African Native College, later renamed the University of Fort Hare, came into being in 1916 due to that noble initiative. Fort Hare has since produced several internationally recognized leaders.

His last years were spent helping Dr. Henderson, Lovedale’s principal, translate the metrical psalms into Xhosa. He died at his home at Ntselamanzi, near Lovedale, on February 22, 1922. He was buried in the Gaga Cemetery, alongside other missionaries associated with Lovedale. 2022 thus marks 100 years since the passing away of Reverend Bokwe. The plan was to utilise Reverend Bokwe’s rich history and legacy to promote nation-building, unity, peace, reconciliation, social justice, diplomacy, and social cohesion. March was thus an appropriate month to celebrate his life and legacy as he was incidentally born on March 15, 1855. The platform was to be utilised for communicating the planned hosting of Human Rights Day at the Ngumbela Cricket Grounds, Ntselamanzi, on March 21, 2022 and was dedicated to the life and legacy of Rev John Knox Bokwe. predetermined destination,” he concluded.

In 1875, Bokwe started to compose hymns. His collected compositions were produced in book form in 1885.

Photo taken from https://www.johnknoxbokwe.com/