Elfas Torerai

Surviving anti-pass march organiser in Zeerust, Sanie ‘Tsantsarara’ Konyana turned 106 last week.

Now a great-grandmother, Konyana still has her sharp wits and she sent a small crowd that gathered to celebrate her birthday into laughter as she recounted some of the experiences she went through.

“We ran away from Dinokana village and hid in a hole with a group of women and later at night we heard a voice saying: ‘Come out of that hole.’ We were running away from the fight with what’s his name… eish I wish I could tell you more of these stories,” she said to the crowd’s pleasure.

Konyana is one of the oldest freedom fighters and forerunners of wars against settlers who wanted to take over Lehurutshe land outside Zeerust. She also took part in the fight against incorporation of Lehurutse into the Bophuthatswana homeland during the 1980s.

provinces@thenewage.co.za