Today … a story of life, love and true grit in honour of a giant who continues to honour the Rantao name and legacy.
From the dust storms of 1929’s Great Depression to the dawn of democracy, Jackson Kgosietsile “Seofela” Rantao has witnessed it all – and lived to tell the tale.
In the harsh winter of March 1933, as South Africa teetered on the precipice of economic collapse and racial tyranny tightened its grip, a child was born in the dusty village of Mokgola (Leeuwfontein), near Zeerust, who would embody the unbreakable spirit of the Bangatana people. Seofela entered a world where his very existence was an act of defiance against a system determined to crush African humanity.
Today, as Seofela celebrates his remarkable 92 years, his story reads like an epic chronicle of 20th century African resilience – a testament to how one man’s quiet determination could nurture hope in the darkest of times and plant seeds of liberation that would bloom across generations.
LEBOKO LOO RANTAO
Morwa – Ntao wa mare a majaga a matebele
Morwa kobo-ya-tau
O go tilweng kgomo e lla e okometse Lepele
E lla e okame Bitswe
E lla e potile Tswenyane morago
Badisa le e bokolotseng
Lo e bokolotseng
Lo be lo e gogeng ka melodi banna
Ngwana wa ga le masa-masa wa moloi
O re bolelela a matebe o aka
O re pitse di fula kwa Tlhabelang
Ngwana wa ga leropolotso le le maoto a mane
Le maoto matlhano le a taboga
Ka le sale le tlhola le faloutsa lotsatsa
Le duma jaaka ntshwe wa motsetsi le re:
Kana felo fa go swetseng rremogolo-golwane
Ke ago itse
Go matubako
Go maoto a batho
Ebile go makgolela a marumo
O motho!
Mongatana
Yo go tweng motho montsho mongaparela batho
O ne a betsa motho ka letswele a feta
A bowa a betsa o mongwe ka letswele a feta
Batho ba gagwe ba sala ba sule ba ntse dikgora
Ba sala ba sule ba ntse dithotho
Ba sala ba sule ba ntse dikgogora botlhe
Noga e ntsho ya bo MmaMarenyane
E ntse e itoga semelemethe
E itoga semelemethe le maje a Botlowe
Etswa kwa mosimeng e ise etswe yotlhe
Basadi bale ba -a-Rantao ba kae
Bo Seaomeng le Maitato
Ba kae ba sa tle go mpokisa Tshwene
Ba bona tshwene e galefile
Matlho a yona a talafetse
A talafetse o ka re bolele jwa noka ya kolone
