S. M. MOFOKENG

Sophonia Mofokeng was born in 1923 at Fouriesburg, O. F. S. [Orange Free State], and attended the local primary school run by the Dutch Reformed Church. He early realized the value of education, and proved himself an apt pupil. From there he went to Adams Mission High School in Natal, where he matriculated at the age of 16, obtaining a first class pass with two distinctions. He then became a student at Fort Hare College, where he graduated B. A. with a distinction in Southern Sotho in 1942, gaining also the Diploma in Education. At this time his special interest turned to History, and while on the staff of the Johannesburg Bantu High School, he followed part-time lectures at the Witwatersrand University, where he graduated B. A. Honours in History. This was in 1945. At this time the Department of Bantu Studies of the University was in need of assistance in the teaching of Sotho, and Mofokeng was used in a part-time capacity. . . . In his work in the Departnment he was thorough and most conscientious. He was highly respected by all the students in his classes, and loved by his colleagues. He began to interest himself in research, and to collaborate with me in the preparation of a Southern Sotho Grammar. Then a heavy blow fell. I shall not forget the day when he came to my room to tell me that the doctors had found that he was suffering from T. B., and that he was going into Rietfontein Hospital. . . . Dr. Mofokeng was a man of high scholarship. But it is not for that I shall remember him. He was a man of high Christian character. A member of the Dutch Reformed Church, he was a devout follower of the Lord Jesus Christ; humble and kind-hearted, cheerful in suffering, respected for his transparent honesty, loved for his quaint humour and readiness to help. To me, he was not so much a member of my staff, as a real friend and colleague, and as a brother in Christ. Africa has lost a great son. May the early death of one so full of promise be a stimulus to many to emulate his example, for the uplift of their people and the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ

- C. M. Doke, "Dr. S. M. Mofokeng: A Personal Tribute", The South African Outlook, July 1st, 1957.