Who they are
Bakwena ba Mopeli is the name of a community in the Qwaqwa (Witsieshoek) area of the Free State that traces its leadership to Paulus Mopeli. The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, in its determination on the position of the paramount chief of Bakwena ba Mopeli, describes him as a younger brother of Moshoeshoe, whom it calls king, and as the first traditional leader of the community that later became known by his name. The commission calls the community Bakwena ba Mopeli; we have not tied it to the wider Kwena peoples in any source, so see our Bakwena page only for the name, and Mopeli for the family line.
From Mabolela to Witsieshoek
The commission says Moshoeshoe placed Paulus Mopeli at Mabolela, east of present-day Ladybrand, as morena wa sebaka (territorial chief), to rule a section of his people. After the wars of 1866 to 1868 between the Basotho and the Boers, Mopeli was forced to leave Mabolela and found himself landless. In 1867 he approached the Volksraad of the Orange Free State, led by President Brand, and was given land at what was then Witsieshoek (Qwaqwa), on condition that he and his followers remained subjects of the Free State. He later applied to the government for recognition as chief (morena) over his people, the Bakwena ba Mopeli, and was recognised.
The line after Paulus Mopeli
- Paulus Mopeli died in 1897. The commission says his son Rantsane took his body for burial in Lesotho and was then prohibited by the Volksraad from returning to the Free State to succeed his father.
- Rantsane’s son Ntsane succeeded his grandfather in 1898 and ruled for twenty years.
- Ntsane’s son Ramatshediso Charles Mopeli succeeded him and died in 1962.
- Ntsane II succeeded Ramatshediso and died in 1965.
- Mofumahadi Mampoi Mopeli became regent for her son Motebang Mopeli, who ruled from 1978 to 1993.
- In 1993 Mofumahadi Mathokwana Mopeli became regent for her son Thokwana (written Thokoana elsewhere in the text), the successor-in-title.
The commission says that in 1985 a Qwaqwa Act of 1983 elevated Bakwena ba Mopeli from a senior traditional leadership to a paramountcy, so that Motebang Mopeli became its first paramount chief. (The text names the Act as the Qwaqwa Traditional Authorities Act 6 of 1983; the sister determination on Batlokwa ba Mota calls the same-numbered Act the Qwaqwa Administration Authorities Act.)
Customary succession, as the commission recorded it
Succession is by male primogeniture, and women ordinarily do not succeed. The heir is the first-born son of the mofumahadi, the wife whose bridewealth is paid by the community. If she bears no heir, a surrogate wife (hlatswadirope) may be married to bear one; if she dies childless a sister or close relative may be given as a seantlo; if a morena dies without an heir the royal family appoints someone to raise seed for him; if he dies while his successor is a minor, a younger brother of the deceased becomes regent; and where an heir dies before marrying, a mofumahadi is married on his behalf. A child born outside marriage cannot succeed, and a morena cannot override the customary law of succession.
What the commission decided
In determinations issued on 29 and 30 April 2008 the commission had already found that the Bakwena ba Mopeli paramountcy is not a kingship, and that the 1985 elevation of Motebang Mopeli was irregular because it was not in line with Kwena customary law. The determination on the paramount chief was then made on the commission’s own research. It had written on 29 May 2008 to the acting paramount chief, the regent Mathokwana Mopeli, and invited her to a hearing on 26 August 2008 in Bloemfontein with written questions. She did not answer the questions. On the day Morena Matheadira Mopeli said, for her, that she would not take part and intended to apply for a court review of the April decision, and the commission went ahead without her.
The commission found that Paulus Mopeli held the position of morena because Moshoeshoe posted him to Mabolela as territorial chief, so he was always subordinate to the king. When Mabolela was conquered he came under the Free State government but kept his cultural ties with the Basotho and his position as morena, as did his successors. It reasoned that, under Basotho custom, an heir takes the status of his father, so Motebang Mopeli could only inherit the position of a morena below the level of king, which the Framework Act calls senior traditional leader. Its conclusion is that the late paramount chief Motebang Mopeli held the position of senior traditional leader. It did not make a separate decision on Thokoana Mopeli, saying the Framework Act has no provision for appointing a successor-in-title.
What we have not read
The acting paramount chief said she meant to challenge the commission in court. We have not read the earlier paramountcy determination, any court papers or judgment, any response from the Mopeli house, or anything that has happened since 2008, and we have not checked who holds the position today. The brother relationship between Paulus Mopeli and Moshoeshoe comes from the commission’s text alone; we have not found it in another source. The community may well see its history differently from the commission.
Izithakazelo (direto) and totem
We have not found a published text of the Bakwena ba Mopeli praises or a confirmed totem for this branch, so we are printing neither. If you belong to Bakwena ba Mopeli and recite the direto, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Determination on the position of the paramount chief of Bakwena ba Mopeli (the second determination in the document, pp. 26 to 46 of the document’s own numbering)
See also our Mopeli, Bakwena and Batlokwa ba Mota pages.
Do you belong to Bakwena ba Mopeli? Tell us your praises, your totem and what elders say about the history, and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.