In a beautiful booklet which can be downloaded at the end of this post. there is a biography of the beloved Prof. Johannes Lenake by Prof Susan Coetzee-Van Rooy, a close friend and colleague (UPSET, NWU). Spanning more than eleven pages, messages from colleagues and collaborators bear testimony to the enormous impact he had on people’s lives, and to the love and respect for this remarkable man. During his career he wrote 16 school books in Southern Sotho, 14 academic handbooks for Southern Sotho, and a substantial offering of Afrikaans and English material used in schools. But this is just part of who he was. Prof. Coetzee-Van Rooy tells of anecdotes during the apartheid era and concludes:
“With his sharp intellect and deep humanity, Prof. Lenake disrupted unjust social order with great style. We learned so much from him.”
During its 2016 Conference, SAALT bestowed a lifetime award on Prof. Lenake for his contribution to language teaching in South Africa.
” A huge tree has fallen … “
“What a great time we had with this faithful man”
“Kgotso Ntate!”
“Farewell beautiful person, cantor, master, turtledove of Unisa. We shall never forget you”
“You have opened a world to me, You meant the world to me. You leave a giant legacy behind”
“Tsamaya hantle, ntate”
“Robala ka Kgotso”