Her statue over the west entrance to the Abbey was sculpted by John Roberts and unveiled in 1998
Manche Masemola, a young woman of the Pedi tribe, passed her
short life in Sekhukhuneland, in the Transvaal. Her people were
confined to reserved lands that were barren, and they worked hard
to eke out a living there. For some decades German and then
English missionaries had settled in the Transvaal, and in the
early twentieth century there existed a Pedi Christian minority,
widely viewed with anxiety and suspicion by others of the tribe
who remained true to the faith of their predecessors.
It is believed that Manche Masemola was born around 1913, in
Marishane. She grew up with her parents, two older brothers, a
younger sister, Mabule, and a cousin, Lucia. She did not go to
school, but worked with her family on the land and at home.
In 1919 Fr Augustine Moeka of the Anglican Community of the
Resurrection had established a mission at Marishane, where the
chief was content to see missionaries of all churches live and
work. It was with her cousin Lucia that Manche Masemola first
heard Moeka preach. She wished to hear more, and began to attend
classes twice a week.
Fearful that she would leave them, or refuse to marry, her
parents sought to discourage her. But she defied them. When their
prohibitions failed she was beaten. On a number of occasions
Manche Masemola remarked to Lucia and Moeka that she would die at
their hands. Then, on or near 4 February 1928, her mother and
father took her away to a lonely place and killed her. she was
buried by a granite rock on a remote hillside. A few days later
her younger sister, Mabule, became ill and then died at the
nearby mission hospital, the Jane Furse. Mabula was buried beside
her sister. In remembrance, their father planted euphorbia trees
beside their graves.
In 1935 a little group of Christians made a pilgrimage to the
grave. Another followed in 1941; a third in 1949. In 1969 her
mother was baptized into the church. In 1975 the name of Manche
Masemola was added to the calendar of the Church of the Province
of Southern Africa. Now, hundreds visit the site every
August.