National Heritage Day celebration will be hosted in Kokstad

The 2018 National Heritage Day celebration will be hosted in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal in honor of Adam Kok and the Griqua community for their courage, determination, and fortitude in resisting colonial occupation.

The 2018 National Heritage Day celebration will be hosted in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal in honor of Adam Kok and the Griqua community for their courage, determination, and fortitude in resisting colonial occupation.

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa made the announcement on Saturday during the launch of Heritage Month at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal.

Mthethwa said the choice of celebrating Heritage Day in Kokstad is significant in many ways, these include reaffirming government's commitment and reassuring the Griqua community and other communities which may have some ambivalence about their sense of belonging, that they too matter and they are part of the broader South African society and have not been forgotten.

"In that regard, it may also be opportune and apt that we pay tribute to Adam Kok, his reigning dynasty and the Griqua community at large for their courage, determination, and fortitude in resisting colonial occupation and the prize that many have had to pay – including death," Mthethwa said.

The Minister noted that it was quite clear that by the turn of the 20th century when the African National Congress burst onto the political scene, the founding fathers and mothers were undoubtedly inspired by the fearlessness and intrepidity of their forebears, such as the Griquas of Adam Kok.

"We have gathered here to honor those who came before we left their mark so that we, this generation can live a better life. In the life of every nation, there arise men and women who leave an indelible and eternal stamp on the history of their peoples; human beings who are both products and makers of history. And when they pass they leave a vision of a new and better life and the tools with which to win and build it," the Minister said.

He added that Adam Kok and his generation were people that needed to be immortalized.