Bokwe, John Knox (A)

John Knox Bokwe is honored as one of the most celebrated Xhosa hymn writers. He was a member of the Ngqika Mbamba clan and was born as Ntselamanzi, near Lovedale, on 15 March 1855. He grew up in the district and it was here that he later became a leader in the Presbyterian Church. His father, Jacob, was one of the first pupils to enroll at Lovedale when it opened as a teaching institution on 21 July 1841.