A historic moment unfolded at the Stellenbosch Home Affairs offices this week, marking what many have described as a victory not just for one young man, but for indigenous communities across South Africa. After an 18-year struggle, a young Khoisan man finally received his South African identity document reflecting his full cultural name, including the click consonants central to his heritage. The breakthrough followed a period of intense advocacy and media attention that highlighted the family’s long-standing challenge in having his indigenous name accurately captured on official records, eventually leading to a direct intervention by the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber.

Speaking at the handover, Minister Schreiber explained that the Department of Home Affairs has since updated its system to accommodate special characters used in the Khoisan language. Describing the event as a case study of a much larger issue, the Minister invited others to come forward with similar cases to help the department better understand and integrate indigenous languages. He further underscored that indigenous identity is embedded in the country’s democratic foundation, referencing the Khoisan language featured on South Africa’s own Coat of Arms.

The ceremony was marked by visible emotion as the ID was officially handed over to the young man, !Khūboab Lawrence. His mother, Lesle Jansen, expressed that the moment affirmed their cultural identity and provided a sense of justice for their entire tribe. She noted that since his birth registration, the family had fought for his true identity to be recognized. While they chose his name for its meaning rather than its complexity, she admitted she never expected the clicks and special characters would lead to such a prolonged struggle. For the family, the document represents a legacy that ensures he will always remember who he is and where he comes from.

 

 

Donovan is currently experimenting with a very interesting medium at the moment; something he likes to label as ‘art through recycled and found objects.’ Nowadays he uses old zinc plates, shovels and basically any type of rubble as a focal point to his art. According to Donovan, these interesting material resembles a certain element of Khoi culture: the indigenous tribe who were regarded as scavengers who literally collected random (and in most cases unwanted) things in an attempt to transform it into useful objects. By creating art on recyclable rubble, Donovan aims to create a certain type of symbolism- people can create their own beautiful, meaningful, vibrant and bold future with whatever cards (or materials) they are dealt with.

When Donovan is not busy at The Zinc Gallery, he loves to spend time with his friends and family or he’d be watching documentaries about old art masters, reading biographies or watching sport. He is also an excellent public speaker and is not afraid to voice his opinions about matters which are close to his heart. He instigated a protest a few years ago in his hometown when the local municipality wanted to close the gate of the only recreational spot, the park next to Langebergriver.

Besides being a voice to the voiceless, Donovan also teaches art to the local kids in his community. He was recently part of the Swellendam Winter School – !Xairu Culture Connect project where he taught course goers how to create art from everyday objects.

Donovan was part of a few exhibitions; the latest one being the Indigenous: The Contemporary Young Khoisan Narrative exhibition. If you were to meet Donovan, his immediate presence of humility and gratefulness would be immediately felt. He never leaves the house without a pen, notebook and something to read and is thus always aware of his immediate surroundings in an attempt to create more activist artworks with a message of hope.

This young artist is definitely a force to be reckoned with- he is only at the beginning of creating his positive and lasting legacy.