Luka Jantjie
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Luka Mpolokeng Jantjie | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1835 South Africa |
| Died | 1897 (aged 61–62) Kimberley |
Kgosi (Chief) Luka Jantjie was a hunter, trader, diamond prospector, and farmer. He was a chief of the Batlhaping ba Manyeding group of the Batswana in Kuruman. He was born in general area of what is now Kimberley, South Africa in about 1835 and was the son of a Christian convert. Jantjie spent most of his life protecting the rights to land of his people and is considered a struggle hero for his battle against British colonialism. He was the cousin of Kgosi Galeshewe.
When diamonds were discovered in Kimberley in 1871, British colonists from the Cape Colony swarmed onto Jantjie's land in search of diamonds and took it over. Jantjie and his people were the first local people whose ancestral land was stolen from them due to diamond prospecting by colonists. Jantjie was outspoken against the land invasion, however, he initially took a non-violent approach towards the British which included boycotting the rural trading stores. In addition, Jantjie fought for his people to attain equal rights to purchase diamond licenses so that they could share in the wealth that was being excavated on their land. However, the government of the Cape Colony refused to grant mining rights to native groups.[1][2] Jantjie took up arms in response and orchestrated skirmishes against the British. Jantjie's confrontations with British authorities earned him the epithet of being “a wild fellow who hates the English”.
Over the next decade, the Batlhaping, Tlharo and Rolong people were evicted from much of their land and confined to reserves. In 1895, the area was annexed by the Cape Colony which resulted in Tswana groups being moved to even smaller reserves. These groups were also forced to pay taxes such as the hut tax, to work on white farms, and as migrant mine workers for the Kimberley mine.[3] In addition the Rinderpest regulations and the shooting of cattle owned by Africans in the Taung Reserves were undertaken. After Jantjie's cattle were shot, he demanded of the policeman in charge, Corporal Denyssen, to know why his cattle were shot. He was shown a policy on Rinderpest and cattle roaming out of the owner's territory. He then demanded compensation from the corporal, which was refused.[4] These events sparked the Langeberg Rebellion. The rebellion was led by Batlhaping chief Kgosi Galeshewe.