Draft:Joshua Masoha

Joshua Masoha

Joshua Masoha was a black South African hunter, explorer and missionary/evangelist. Joshua’s parents Barnabas and Lydia who were converted to Christianity at the Zoutpansberg mission. Prior to his conversion, Barnabas was a renowned warrior and his conversion to Christianity. When Joshua grew up, he worked for the renowned hunter Barend Vorster and became a skilled hunter himself.

Jozua Masoha

Dutch Reformed Church Mission to Rhodesia

In 1887 a new missionary expedition was once more sent from the Zoutpansberg under the leadership of Micha Makgato who had accompanied Gabriel Buys in an earlier expedition in 1883. The other members of this party were Joshua Masoha, Zacharia Ramushu, Mikia Choene and Simon Njit (or Knight). This party reported on its return that the Shona, after having consulted their ancestral spirits, were quite willing to receive messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The evangelists also conveyed the following message from the Shona: "You want to come in, we are willing to receive you. If you do not come, the fault does not lie with us but with you". This message was received with great joy at Zoutpansberg. Stephanus Hofmeyr was convinced that God had answered the many prayers that the door should once more be opened. The deputation from the Zoutpansberg had been advised by the Shona first to negotiate with Lobengula regarding a mission to Mashonaland, as his opposition to such a project was greatly feared.

On the 30th of September 1887, Micha Makgato, Joshua Masoha and Zacharia Ramushu were sent off to negotiate with Lobengula. Ramushu knew Ndebele and acted as interpreter. Simon Njit and Mikia Choene planned to follow afterwards. Mikia actually followed the party to the headquarters of Lobengula. One morning a group of armed warriors asked the three evangelists whether they knew of somebody who had been following them along a different path. In the discussion which followed between Joshua and Micha, the name of Mikia was mentioned, and it was this that saved the three evangelists from certain death. At the same time they were informed that Lobengula had categorically refused to allow any mission to be started amongst the Shona.

In spite of this message and all it implied, three evangelists were once more sent in April 1889 to the Shona. They were, Micha Makgato, Joshua Masoha and Lukas Mokoele. The Rev. S. P. Helm who had been sent to Zoutpansberg in 1887 and had become greatly interested in a mission to the Shona, expressed himself as follows with regard to these three men: "We demand dedication; we seek absolute surrender to the work of the Lord - we can find it in these three - particularly in Micha and Joshua".

Volunteers

In 1891 Stephanus Hofmeyr asked his Zoutpansberg congregation for volunteers to join the expedition to the Shona under the leadership of Andrew Louw. Micha Makgato who had accompanied all the expeditions since 1883, Joshua Masoha who had been with them since 1887, and Lukas Mokoele who had shared the hardships and had been exposed to the dangers of the expedition of 1889, were amongst the volunteers, and along with them four others, none of whom had taken part in previous expeditions. They were the two brothers, Jeremia and Petrus Morudu who had been baptized together by Stephanus Hofmeyr at Bethesda on June 3, 1877, David Molea and Izak Kumalo.

Izak Kumalo was the grand-child of a sister of Mzilikazi and therefore could under certain circumstances be considered to have a claim to the paramount chieftainship of the Amandebele. His mother had grown up at Bulawayo, and had afterwards fled with a man and his wife to Botswana, where they were cordially received by Sekome, the father of Khama. After two years the man died and the two women went to the Zoutpansberg where the Rev. McKidd, the predecessor of Stephanus Hofmeyr, was working. Here the mother of Izak Kumalo was converted under the ministry of Hofmeyr. She took the name of Lydia. While in the Zoutpansberg she married a Swazi man who as a warrior of Nyamazana had been drafted to a regiment of Umzilikazi. He subsequently had to flee because Umzilikazi suspected the existence of a friendship between him and one of his own wives. Afterwards he also reached the Zoutpansberg where he too was converted to the Christian faith.

Expedition to the Masvingo area

When the missionary expedition leadership of Andrew Louw entered Zimbabwe in September 1891, the approach followed was that of establishing a line of outposts from the Bubi river in the south up to the country of Nyajena in the north which was adjacent to the are of (Chief) Mugabe where the establishment of a mission station was being planned. Masoha accompanied Louw when they approached Togarepi who was the reigning Chief Mugabe. They are initially met with fear and suspicion but are eventually allowed to speak to the people and established a mission station (Morgenster).

The two brothers Jeremia Morudu and Petrus Morudu were posted near to each other to Matibi and Neshuro respectively. Izak Kumalo was posted to Vurumela amongst the VaHlengwe who spoke a dialect which was closely akin to Ndebele, his mother tongue. Lukas Mokoele was posted to Madzivire from whence had come the first convert Mutisikwa Madzivire who accompanied Gabriël Buys in 1870. Joshua Masoha was posted to Ruvanga. He also worked amongst the people of Musovi with whom previous expeditions had made contact. Micha Makgato was posted to Nyajena Madzivanyika. David Molea was posted to Morgenster along with Andrew Louw to assist him and act as his interpreter.

Legacy

Louw described him as brave and resourceful person who shared his experiences and knowledge of the area. when Louw fell ill with a fever, it was Masoha who nursed him. The mission station Masoha set up with Louw became the first DRC mission in Southern Rhodesia and the centre of DRC missionary work among the southern Shona.