The aim of this chapter is to exemplify the problem of debt within a society, using the history of the Bakwena-ba-Magopa after 1921 as a case study. The main points of this story emphasise the following: first, Chief Johannes Otto More Mamogale bought Elandsfontein 205 in 1921, and, for unexplained reasons, anticipated that all the Bakwena would contribute to a common fund. Second, the debt resulting from the purchase became a long-term problem. The ultimate risks to the Bakwena of default were ominous, including the potential loss of a substantial amount of their land in addition to Elandsfontein 205. Third, a degree of disunity developed among the Bakwena which could not be overcome for more than 20 years. Fourth, Native Affairs Department (NAD) officials played an important role in trying to convince the Bakwena to meet their financial responsibilities and in helping them to minimise their losses. Fifth, court decisions, including those directly related to Bakwena problems but also those which pertained to general legal principles, affected Bakwena efforts to collect money from male adults. Finally, this case study illustrates the limits of power, both the power of Chief J. O. M. Mamogale and that of NAD officials.

The Bakwena-ba-Magopa occupied land during the 19th century in what became the Pretoria magisterial district and the Rustenburg magisterial district. They were a large society including, by the 1920s, about 6,000 adult males, suggesting a population of 24,000 to 30,000 people. Collectively, they owned at least ten farms. Historically, this society was divided into three parts around Jericho, Hebron and Bethanie. Rev. Wilhelm Behrens, a Hermansburg missionary, an authority on Bakwena-ba-Magopa society and culture, and a longtime resident of Bethanie, affirmed this division when he spoke about the different ‘localities’ forming ‘three different groups’. After the arrival of missionaries in the Transvaal, the Bakwena were affiliated with the Hermannsburg Mission Society.

Even though this division prevailed for decades, at least, the Bakwena in each of these sections recognised only one supreme leader: Jacobus More Mamogale during the later 19th century and his son, J. O. M. Mamogale, during the first third of the 20th century. Important Bakwena leaders periodically reiterated allegiance to one chief and commitment to the unity of the Bakwena people.