13 Aug 2026

Botswana and South Africa are in talks to revamp and preserve historic liberation heritage sites in Lobatse as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation and unlock their potential to contribute to the town’s economic revitalisation.

Acting South African High Commissioner to Botswana, Feziwe Madikizela, said the proposed redevelopment of the sites was identified as a priority during the South Africa-Botswana Bi-National Commission held in Botswana in May.

 Madikizela said this on Tuesday during a tour of Lobatse’s Liberation Heritage Trail, which included the Samora Machel Museum and the Fish Keitseng Memorial at Peleng.

“The South African government together with Botswana government are in talks about revamping this place. We are aware that it has been on the cards for a long time, but now both President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Duma Boko emphasised during the recent South Africa-Botswana Bi-National Commission which was held in May in Botswana that this is one of the projects that should be treated as a priority,” she said.

She said preserving the sites was important because they represented a shared history that had woven the people of Botswana and South Africa together, particularly during the liberation struggle against apartheid.

Madikizela said Peleng played an integral role in the liberation struggle by providing refuge to prominent liberation icons, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, who stayed at the Fish Keitseng homestead.

She also visited the home of the late Fish Keitseng, which was declared a national monument in 2012.

 Keitseng worked in the South African mines before joining the African National Congress (ANC) struggle for a free and equal South Africa. In 1956, he was among those prosecuted alongside Mandela and other liberation activists during the famous Treason Trial before being deported to Botswana.

 Madikizela said the Fish Keitseng homestead was subsequently used as a base for an underground transit network that facilitated the movement of ANC cadres to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia.

The safe house hosted several prominent liberation figures, including Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Govan Mbeki, Joe Slovo, Joe Modise and Jacob Zuma.

Acting Director of the Department of National Museum and Monuments, Kabelo Mogami, said the visit demonstrated the profound shared history between Botswana and South Africa while highlighting opportunities to use Lobatse’s heritage assets to stimulate the local economy.

He said the heritage sites could be developed into attractions that would benefit the local community.

“We are one people, their history is our history as well,” he said.

Tour guide and historian at the Department of National Museum and Monuments, Mr Onkgopotse Moseki, took Ms Madikizela through the Samora Machel Museum and the Fish Keitseng safe house.

He explained that Mandela stayed at the Fish Keitseng homestead in January 1962 for about three weeks while seeking refuge during the apartheid era.

 Moseki said the homestead provided a safe haven for Mandela, although security concerns meant he could not remain there during the day.

He said Mandela spent much of the day hiding in Peleng Hill and returned to the Fish Keitseng homestead at night to sleep and receive food. ENDS