MOCHUDI - Staged reading and dialogue

Set in 1882, Mochudi dramatizes the Bakgatla resistance against Boer invasion. After an impasse, Commandos seize land and enslave villagers. In his response, Kgosi Lentswe balances strategic patience with his people’s demand for immediate action. His brother, Segale the warrior-diplomat, leads unsuccessful negotiations with the Boers. Kgosi Lentswe subsequently dispatches the tracker Mathudi to gather intelligence on the enemy. Through the ancestral ritual, go foka marumo, Bakgatla prepare spiritually, then ambush Boer forces at the Madikwe River. When invaders retaliate, the entire community - warriors, women, and children - mobilizes to defend Mochudi and drive back the colonial forces. Framed as a traditional fable about Kgabo the Fire Monkey (resilience) versus Kgodumodumo the Hater of Life (destruction), the play connects historical resistance to contemporary land struggles across Africa and indigenous communities worldwide, affirming that 'Naga ya kgomo ga e robale'- the land of cattle does not sleep, and neither can its defenders.

Writer: Kgafela oa Magogodi

Readers / Cast :

Neo M Matsunyane

Warona Seane

Gontse Ntshegang

Monageng Motshabi

Lucky Mqoboli

Folasade Sepeng

Trevayne Weber

Joel Leonard

Warona Tabane Magogodi

As discussants:

Warona Seane

Monageng Motshabi

Dr Kgafela oa Magogodi