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} Tladi Moloi

SENEKAL. – To some peopledreams do not really matter, butthis is not the case with Sello“Dada” Mofokeng – he is living hisdream. Five years ago, Dada, fromMatwabeng near Senekal, had adream. According to him, hedreamt of building ten churchesafter he had won the Lotto.

After he had woken up, helooked into the matter and starteda project – this project was to buildthose churches he had dreamtabout.

“I was honestly gambling,”Mofokeng says.

“I stopped after that dream. Ithen looked at the ways of makingthat dream a reality.”

Mofokeng has built four churchesthus far and that means there aresix more to come.

This ambitious, humble man is aleader at the Uniting ReformedChurch of Southern Africa, but hedecided to build the churches forthe Apostolic Church.

“If you check, those are thechurches that never had theprivilege of being awarded moneyin the past years, but they keptgoing. Most of their buildings areshacks and I want to change that.”

Mofokeng and his team of strongmen, Thabiso Ramatsa, TsekoMofokeng and Mokhane Nthoroane,are now building the walls of thefourth church, the KhopoltsoApostolic Faith Mission Church ofAfrica, in Matwabeng.Express Eastern Free State was

told that this church has beenwithout a decent building for about15 years.

Mofokeng says all the churcheswhere built in Mandela Month,because he has turned it into hisdedication to giving 67 minutes. OnFriday, the day when the world

was celebrating the late formerpresident Nelson Mandela’sbirthday by reaching out to thecommunity for 67 minutes, peoplefrom Matwabeng came together tohelp build the church.

Most importantly, it was alsoMofokeng’s birthday.

Even the traffic officers forgotabout their daily work of givingfines to misbehaving drivers andhelped in building the church.

“We took some money from oursalaries and asked for donations forthis church to be built. We hadchallenges before, but as time goeson, God sends people with goldenhearts to help us.”

Mofokeng says Serame Letsoaka,assistant coach of Bafana Bafana,bought bricks for them, whileCharles Taetsane, the municipalmanager at the Maluti-a-PhofungLocal Municipality, helped withbags of cement.

“After they had donated these,the problem was who would buildfor us, because obviously whoeverwould come, would charge us.

“We then approached themanagement of the KroonstadPrison to help us with inmates whocould build for us. Through thehelp of Nthoroane, we got themand they are now assisting us.”

Pastor Mathetsi Mofokeng of theKhopoltso Apostolic Faith MissionChurch of Africa says he cannotwait for the church to be complet-ed, because they have been congre-gating in a shack for a long time.

“I am happy that these peoplecame in numbers to help. Somemembers of the congregation hadto stand outside the shack, but thatproblem looks like it will besomething of the past. I wish Godto give them power every hour tohelp others,” he said.) Visit express-news.co.za for moreinterviews and a video.

From dream to realityOne man’s dedication motivates others to help build churches

SETSOTO LOCAL MUNICIPALITYTRAFFIC OFFICERS from Senekaljoin the community in helping tobuild the Khopoltso ApostolicFaith Mission Church of Africa aspart of Mandela Day celebrations.

LEFT: From the left are Thabiso Ra­matsa, provincial principal inspec­tor of the traffic department, Tse­ko Mofokeng, road safety princi­pal, and Sello "Dada" Mofokeng,senior superintendent at the traf­fic department, the men behindthe good story of helping to buildchurches. Photos: Tladi Moloi

Visit the Express EasternFree State websitewww.express-news formore news and photos.

2 EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014

NEWS

} Tladi Moloi

QWAQWA. – The Masebonisaneni SonkeProject, in conjunction with Eskom, donatedfood parcels, clothes and blankets to thevictims of electricity flow inconsistency inthe Maluti-a-Phofung (MAP) Local Munici-pality.

The donations were handed over to fourfamilies on Tuesday at the municipalheadquarters. According to Collen Charlie,the project manager, the beneficiaries werethose people who had lost some of theirbelongings during the electricity catastrophein Qwaqwa.

It is alleged that the ongoing problem ofelectricity going on and off in the localmunicipality had resulted in damaging theelectric supply in some of the villages, whileit is alleged that other people had losthouses as they were damaged by fires.

Charlie said they came on board afterthey were approached by the municipality tohelp the families. He said since that hasbeen their role for a long time, they never

hesitated to assist, but asked for Eskom tohelp them.

“We approached the Eskom branch inHarrismith after we had been invited tohelp. They never turned us down, butoffered a helping hand. They gave us tenblankets, because we understand that somepeople might have lost their blankets,” hesaid.

It was not the first time that this NGOfrom Harrismith has lent a helping hand tothe community. They have done it onseveral occasions and Charlie declared thatthey would keep on doing it.

“I want to thank the NGO and Eskom. Itis a good thing when we work together andthat will help in giving services to ourpeople,” said Vusi Tshabalala, the executivemayor of MAP.

The mayor said they would love to workwith NGO’s in future and added that theirrelationship with Eskom would be improved.

“People have always thought Eskom wasonly interest in electricity and will nowwitness that it could also help people.”

Lepekola Raputsoane, the portfoliomanager of Eskom in Harrismith, said theywere happy to be part of making thedonation and added that they were alwaysavailable to assist where they were needed.

Neo Motaung (33), one of the beneficiaries,said he was happy with the donation.

“They gave us food parcels and blanketsand they have promised to come back withmore,” he said.

Donation vital for project

FROM the left are Margi Charlie, senior supervisor of Eskom in Harrismith, MamosebetsiTsotetsi, Lepekola Raputsoane, portfoliomanager of Eskom inHarrismith,MapeneMokoe­na, Mantwa Mokoena, Collen Charlie, Masebonisaneni Sonke, project manager, and VusiTshabalala, executive mayor of the Maluti­a­Phofung Municipality. Photo: Tladi Moloi

WINNER: Nyatso Lekhoaba from Qwaqwa is the winner of the Ex­press Eastern Free State Youth Day competition. He won R250 inprice money. Photo: Adelina Mokoena

} Tladi Moloi

FICKSBURG. – Gift of the Givers, inpartnership with the Free State Bikers,donated eight wheelchairs, 250 blanketsand food parcels to the community ofMeqheleng, Ficksburg, and Matwabeng,Senekal.

The donation was made at the Map-enydira Hall in Ficksburg on Saturday.The day started with the bikers’ convoyin town to the hall where the officialprogramme was conducted.

Fokane Tukele, a representative of Giftof the Givers, said the reason they hadmade the donation was that they wantedto have a hand in the 67 minutes forMandela Day. He said they also aimed tochange the mentality of people whothought bikers were hooligans whobullied people on the roads.

“The South African Social SecurityAgency (Sassa) helped us in identifyingthe beneficiaries. It was not the firsttime that we made a donation in theSetsoto Local Municipality. The firstevent was held at Marquard andSenekal,” he said.

He said they gave back in Setsoto,because he wanted to do something forthe community he grew up in.

“I was born in Senekal and doingsomething for them was a good thing. Iam happy that they allowed me to comehere and do something for the communi-ty,” he said.

“I am overwhelmed with the donation.I wish God will give them power to domore and help other people,” saidHoseng Letima (74), one of the benefici-aries from Meqeleng.

“I wish they could always help us, butI know that is not possible as they haveto help others.”

Bikers help to give back

MEMBERS of the Free State Bikers, representatives of Gift of the Givers and beneficiaries during the recent donation which wasmade at the Mapenyadira Hall in Meqheleng, Ficksburg. Photo: Tladi Moloi

‘I was born in Senekal and doing something for them was a goodthing. I am happy that they allowed me to come here and do some-

thing for the community.’ – Fokane Tukele

EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014 3

} Thabo Mokoena

QWAQWA. – Nthabiseng Tsotetsi and Malefet-sane Mokoena are the new Miss and MrTyrannus Apostolic Church. The duo willrepresent Qwaqwa in the finals which will beheld from 8 to 10 August in the BotshabeloStadium in Bloemfontein where the overallwinners will be chosen.The contest was held in several towns and all

the winners will compete in Botshabelo.Tsotetsi and Mofokeng won the round in

Boiketlo Village, Qwaqwa, and this was theirticket to the next stage of the competition.The contest is aimed at developing talent at

the church.There were many activities on the day with

the youth taking part in drama, aerobics anddancing.Danone Khumalo, one of the contestants, said

he was happy to be a winner and added that hehad not expected it.“I never thought there would be a party in a

church but today I saw it happen,” he said.He said he was happy to worship God in a

different way. “I encourage the youth to stopgoing around searching for ‘fun’ things to dothat are not good for them. They must rathergather at church with other youngsters andworship God,” he said.

Church chooses finalists

FROM the left are,front: Esther Tsotetsi(first princess),Nthabiseng Tsotetsi(queen) and Thande­ka Tshabalala (sec­ond princess); back:Thabo Mofokeng(first prince),Malefet­sane Mokoena (king)and Danone Khum­alo (second prince).Photo: Thabo Mokoena

Formorenewsand

photosgoto

www.express-

news.co.za

NEWS

4 EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014

NEWS

} Selloane Khalane

“THOKOZA GOGO,” he greets ina crouching position, his skinsmeared in red ochre, adorninghis red and white sangoma(traditional healer) attire FusiKhumalo (24) starts chanting tothe sound of the African drum.“Thongo lam liyavuma, Thongo

lam liyavuma”, (My ancestors arewith me, my ancestors are withme) he chants in Zulu whilestamping his feet.Khumalo, originally from

Qwaqwa, says the chant evokesthe ancestors and asks God to leadthe way into the spirit world.He is one of the many sangoma

initiates who flock to the Nkoko-mohi Caves, located on theoutskirts of Ficksburg, to speak totheir ancestors and learn theirskills.The area is considered sacred

and is known as Badimong,Mautse or Nkokomohi, meaning to“rise up like smoke”, a referenceto the spirits of the ancestors.Mautse means “holy waters”.Khumalo says his spiritual

journey began at the young age ofeight, when he was plagued bydreams and visions of his ances-tors.Following much resistance to

succumb to his calling, Khumalofell ill throughout his teenage lifeuntil he decided to yield to hisministry.“When you are young your flesh

tends to speak louder than yourspirit, my journey has not beeneasy,” Khumalo explains.The beautiful valleys with

numerous cliff overhangs atNkokomohi have different spiritu-al connotations.As dusk approaches, the scent of

imphepho (Helichrysum petiolare),fills the many huts nestled in thecaves.Traditional healers and herbal-

ists believe they summon theancestors by burning sacredplants like imphepho.The sound of flowing water

seeping from one of the cavesfondly called “University”, wheresangomas pass on the knowledgeof the ancestors to those called to

serve, cloaks the dwelling intranquillity.The springs are littered with

coins left by the many people whoflock to the springs to drink thewater believed to have healingpowers.Letters and Bibles left by people

going to the caves to seek spiritu-al intervention from God and theancestors can be found throughoutmost of the caves.A short walk from the Universi-

ty will lead you to a cliff calledMaseyeng, meaning “Children’sCave”.This cave has been earmarked

to help barren women to conceive.

Across the stream from Masey-eng, lies “Jerusalem”, a cave usedby those following the apostolicfaith system.Jerusalem has the most spiritu-

al initiates wearing red cloaksbearing white crosses on the back.When night falls the shapes and

colours worn into the walls of thecaves of Jerusalem dance to thehum of the voices and the beat ofthe drums belted by its inhabit-ants.An enchanting ritual practised

every evening is to meditate.While the owls hoot and the

jackals howl at the moon, MichaelMofokeng (49) says those dwelling

at the caves are not allowed tohunt the animals that liveamongst them with the exceptionof an instruction from the ances-tors.Mofokeng has been living in the

caves for five years.“This valley is the place to

honour your ancestors and todwell on matters of the spirit,”Mofokeng says.For harmony between the living

and the dead, vital for a trouble-free life, traditional healersbelieve that the ancestors must beshown respect through ritual andanimal sacrifice.Traditional healers will often

give their patients muti – medica-tions made from plant, animalsand minerals –imbued withspiritual significance.These muti often have powerful

symbolism; for example, lion fatmight be prepared for children topromote courage.There are medicines for every-

thing from physical and mentalillness, social disharmony andspiritual difficulties to potions forprotection, love and luck.Mofokeng explains the signifi-

cance of the throng of dassies,called pela in Sesotho, idlingthroughout the area.Not shy of human interaction,

the dassies are believed to be agood omen of the presence of theancestors.Mofokeng says the peaceful

surroundings can be deceiving.“Like any other community

jealousy and witchcraft do prevailamong some of these mud huts,”Mofokeng echoes in deep thought.We trudge uphill through the

sun-scorched golden fields to awaterfall called Dipororong.Here, water falls over a cliff

throughout the year.The waterfall is believed to have

cleansing abilities and a power toenhance one’s calling.Following a short prayer at the

waterfall, we throw caution to thewind and bask under the coldwater shower.One cannot help but embrace

the simplicity and beauty ofcreation.With no network reception, life

for the community of Nkokomohihas no fancy frills.From sunrise traditional healers

are occupied with various tasksfrom collecting firewood forcooking to cleaning the respectivecaves.There are several areas of

prayer where you can respectfullylight candles and leave tokens offood for the spirits to consume.The caves are overwhelmed

with local and internationalvisitors curious of the simple lifemany have long abandoned.“I did not choose this life, it

chose me, it is my cross to bear,”Mofokeng concludes.

Sangoma – a heavy cross to bearSangoma – a heavy cross to bear

FUSI KHUMALO inside the Nkokomuhi Caves in Ficksburg.

MANY sangoma initiates flock to the Nkokomohi Caves in Ficksburg, some even stay there permanently.MICHAEL MOFOKENG

EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014 5

NEWS

QWAQWA. – WO Tomolane Ishmael Moloi(48), a police officer of Phuthaditjhaba’s K9Unit, was shot and killed by four suspectsduring a robbery at Marakong Village inQwaqwa on Thursday.

He was responding to the allegedrobbery at a business owned by a foreign-er in which a son of the shop owner wasalso assaulted by the assailants.

It is alleged that a security guardworking at a Bangladeshi shop saw fourpeople attempting to break into thebusiness before he phoned the police.

Sgt. Mmako Mophiring said when the

police arrived at the shop the suspects fledthe scene.

“A few hours later, at about 01:50, thesuspects allegedly returned to the shop andmanaged to break into the shop.

“The security guard phoned Moloi, theK9 Unit police officer, who resided a fewmetres from the shop.

“The police officer walked from hishome to the shop after he had received thephone call.

“Moloi was found dead with a bulletwound in the forehead. He died instantlyon the scene,” said Mophiring.

Officer shot dead in robbery

6 EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014

NEWS

} Tladi Moloi

PEOPLE from across thecountry gave their time incelebration of Mandela Day onFriday by doing communitywork as part of the 67 minutes ofMandela Day. This is how someof the people celebrated it in theEastern Free State.KESTELL. – The ANC

Phaksmankahlama branch inKestell celebrated the day bypainting the walls of the Thlo-long Care of the Aged LuncheonClub as well as cleaning theplace. MAP Water also offeredtheir helping hand by donating aJojo tank.BETHLEHEM. – The Mat-

swapitseng non-profit organisa-tion visited Selahliwe, aninformal settlement inBohlokong in Bethlehem, to

donate clothes to the needyfamilies.BETHLEHEM. – The office of

the executive mayor of theThabo Mofutsanyana DistrictMunicipality had a long line-upfor the day. The day started inthe Bethlehem Town Hall wherethe comrades were briefed. Theythen visited the two hospitals intown, Dihlabeng RegionalHospital and Phekolong Hospital.They ended the day with abirthday party and distributionof food parcels on OmdraaiFarm.SENEKAL. – The community

of Matwabeng in Senekal and theSetsoto traffic officers cametogether in helping to build theKhopoltso Apostolic FaithMission Church of Africa as partof the 67 minutes of the MandelaDay.

Communityshows heart

FROM left are Tjetane Mofokeng (executive mayor of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality),Samson Mofokeng, David Mokoena, Moitswadi Mofokeng, Masao Mokoena, LekhokoloMofokeng and Thabang Labane with the clothes that they donated to the Selahliwe com­munity.

SOME of the people from the office of the executive mayor of the Thabo MofutsanyanaDistrict Municipality cleaning at the Dihlabeng Regional Hospital.

THE ANC Phaksmankahlama branch in Kestell after they had painted the walls of the Thlolong Care of the AgedLuncheon Club.

THE community of Matwabeng in Senekal who helped to build the Khopoltso Apostolic Faith Mission Church of Africa. Photos: Tladi Moloi

EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014 7

SPORT

} Teboho Setena

THE Sibanye GoldenStars have been clearedof any wrong-doingregarding the improperregistration of twoplayers – giving them thegreen light to compete atthe national promotionalplay-offs.

The South AfricanFootball Association’s(Safa) national discipli-nary committee andappeals board found theGoldfields team not guiltyon the charge of allegedimproper registration oftwo players, JosephMolete and ThabisoNtseki.

The charge of miscon-duct to field improperlyregistered players cameafter the Bloemfontein-based side Bubchu Unitedhad lodged a complaintwith the association,alleging Ntseki andMolete had been improp-erly registered. The twoplayers featured in Stars’return leg league matchagainst Bubchu.

Klip Moremi, Safacompetitions coordinatorfor the Free State, saidthe case against Starshad been dismissed by the associa-tion’s national disciplinary commit-tee and the appeals board on thebasis that Bubchu had not followedthe grievance procedure to theletter. He said the aggrieved clubhad failed to lodge a protest duringtheir league fixture against Stars,and had waited until the leaguecompetition had finished to lodgetheir complaint.

The dispute was dismissed at thefirst hearing on 28 June by theassociation’s disciplinary committee.Bubchu was granted leave to appealand the team did so. However, theappeals board dismissed the casewith costs at the hearing on 3 July.

Stars were found not guilty ofbeing in contravention of the Safauniform rules and regulations, inparticular rule 24.2.6 and 24.2.10 tofield illegitimate players. If foundguilty, the club would have beencharged for bringing the game, Safaand its sponsors into disrepute. Safawould also have docked Stars pointsas part of the punishment.

Stars registered Ntseki and Moletefrom their local rivals Welkom Starsduring the registration period fromJanuary ending February duringwhich teams were allowed toregister players.

However, their former teamWelkom United allegedly decided towithhold the two players’ identitycards against their will to denythem a chance to join rivals Stars.

It emerged that the two playerswere given clearance by one ofWelkom United’s officials withsignatory powers and that Starsinformed Safa that the players’identity cards were being withheldby Welkom United.

The dismissal means Bubchu willhave to pay the costs of the appealshearing, including the travelexpenses of Stars.

The outcome of the dispute hasdealt Bubchu a double blow. Notonly were they beaten by Stars inthe boardroom, but also on the fieldin contention for the Free Statesecond division title.

The Bloemfontein-basedteam was among the fourclubs that were favouredto win the provincialchampionships. Thecontestants includedSuper Eagles fromBethlehem and Bloemfon-tein Young Tigers andStars who pulled all thestops in the hotlycontested league champi-onship.

The final log updatednationally by Safashowed that Bubchufinished the season inthird position on 52points and Stars in firstposition with 59 points.

Bethlehem-based teamEagles came in second on53 points while YoungTigers settled for fourthspot with 43 points.

Under the leadership ofthe coach Samuel “Ace”Mpakane Stars are nowgearing up for thenational promotionalplay-offs to be staged inDurban from 21 to 27July. The Free Statechampions will be amongthe nine teams from thenine provinces that willbe vying for promotion tothe professional NationalFirst Division League at

the promotional play-offs in Durban.Only two clubs will be promotedand Mpakane hopes his teamsucceeds.

If promoted, Stars will be the onlyteam from the Goldfields to cam-paign in the professional leaguewhen the new 2014-’15 seasoncommences in August.

“Despite the dispute disturbingour programme, we are going tofight tooth and nail to ensure wegain promotion. We want to achievethe dream of having a professionalteam in the Goldfields region thatwill change the lives of the youth inthe region.

“We don’t have a professionalteam here in the region and with uspromoted it’s going to make adifference to promote football. Weare relying on the support of thelocals in our mission,” said Mpa-kane.

His confidence has been boostedby the fact that he has an injury-free team to compete at the promo-tional play-offs.

Team cleared

UPBEAT: Samuel “Ace”Mpakane, coach of SibanyeGold­en Stars. Photos: Teboho Setena

WIRED: Sibanye Golden Stars twin strikers Tsita Mokhakoane and Vuyo Ntakakase, who are instrumental intheir team’s success provincially, will spearhead their team at the promotional play­offs.

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8 EXPRESS EASTERN FREE STATE, WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2014

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} Tladi Moloi

BETHLEHEM. – There is a new twist inthe drama of disputes involving amateurclubs in the South African Football Associa-tion (Safa) Thabo Mofutsanyana SouthAfrican Breweries League.This is after Dikwena FC was declared

the winner of Stream A in the boardroom,giving them the ticket to compete againstFree State Development Academy, winnerof Stream B, at the region’s inter-streamplay-offs to determine the overall winner.The two teams, Academy and Dikwena,

will lock horns today in the PlatbergStadium in Harrismith to decide the overallwinner of the Thabo Mofutsanyana league.Kick-off is at 15:00.Initially, Dla2 FC were the winners of

Stream A, waiting for the outcome of adispute between Academy (a developmentoutfit of the Premier League team FreeState Stars) and FK FC. The bitter disputeinvolving Academy and FK apparently

regarded a transgression of the rule by FKto not field the required number of u.21players in a league fixture against theLadybrand-based Manyatseng UnitedBrothers.It is alleged that FK were in contradiction

of the rule. The Safa national disciplinarycommittee has ruled in favour of Academyin this matter.Dla2 FC were assured of a spot at the

inter-stream play-offs but got a majorsurprise to find out that Dikwena had otherideas as they had lodged a complaintagainst Dla2, claiming the club fielded adefaulter.According to Dimakatso Mokoena, the

region’s competitions coordinator, Dikwenawill go to the inter-streams play-offs afterthe region’s disciplinary committee ruled intheir favour, thus finding Dla2 in transgres-sion of the rule. She also pointed out thatthey knew nothing about an appeal by FK.“Dikwena lodged a complaint against Dla2

who were the winners of the stream. That

complaint was about a defaulter which wasused by Dla2 in two games. Apparently theyused a certain player who was suspendedfor two matches after being sent off. Dla2won a case in the region and the appealboard but went on to lose it in arbitration,”she said.Mokoena confirmed that Academy were

the winners of Stream B after FK had lostthe case. She said FK had the right toappeal nationally (Safa national disciplinarycommittee).“But they delayed to appeal,” she said.“We have spoke to the national Safa

office to find out if there was an appeal.However, they told us they had not receivedan appeal from the team from Senekal. Asthings stand, we have to produce a winnerthat will represent us at the provincialplay-offs this coming weekend,” she said.Mokoena said they were instructed by

Safa national to start a case involving FKand duly did so. “However, FK lost the casefor the second time,” said Mokoena.

New twist in dispute dramaON the war path: The Free State Development Academy players in red against Rhino FC will hope to help their team to beat Dikwena FC, a team from Qwaqwa, when they lockhorns today in the Safa Thabo Mofutsanyana SAB regional league inter­streams play­offs in the Platberg Stadium in Harrismith.

THE winner between Dikwenaand Academy will compete forpromotion against other regionalwinners: Days (Lejweleputswa),Lazio (Mangaung Metro), RootsUnited (Xhariep) and Avalon

(Fezile Dabi).The provincial play-offs are set

to start on Friday and end onSunday in Welkom where theteams representing the fiveregions will compete for promo-tion to Safa’s second divisionleague.

Play-offs start