08/10/2026
What do we remember when we remember South Africa?
We often remember the names we were taught at school, the leaders whose photographs appeared in our textbooks, and the people whose stories became part of the history we know. But South Africa’s history is much larger than the names we remember most easily.
There are writers, thinkers, community leaders, musicians, activists and traditional leaders whose ideas, courage and contributions shaped the country long before many of us were born. In Kimberley, two of those names are Sol Plaatje and Kgosi Luka Jantjie.
Plaatje was a writer, intellectual, translator, journalist and political leader whose work documented the experiences of Black South Africans during a defining period in the country’s history. Kgosi Luka Jantjie, a respected leader of the Batlhaping, resisted the dispossession of his people and became an important figure in the history of the Northern Cape. Their stories are part of this place's history, and yet, how well do we know them?
On the 24th of October, join us in Kimberley, in partnership with the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, for an evening of music and reflection centred on the legacies of these two figures, bringing together artists, musicians, young voices and the wider community.
Professor Yunus Ballim, founding Vice-Chancellor of Sol Plaatje University, is set to deliver a keynote address, followed by a musical programme led by Kutlwano Masote, conducting the Northern Cape Symphony Orchestra, with Vusi Mahlasela, the Northern Cape Youth Choir, the Sol Plaatje University Choir and other local cultural groups who will also take to the stage.
Tickets are R50.
Students with a valid student card enter free with a wristband.
For more on the concert, read the full story via the link in our bio.
