22/05/2026
FAREWELL BIG MAN
RIP RATEBOGO..
Tomorrow we gather in a mountainous village of Kanye,not just to mourn, but to bear witness to a life that was unashamedly nailed to the old rugged cross. Reverend Lesole was a man who did not soften the gospel to fit the times, nor trade conviction for comfort. In a season where faith is often edited down to what is palatable, he stood as a reminder of what it meant to carry the message of Christ in its raw, uncut form. He preached the cross not as a symbol for decoration, but as the only ground on which sin is forgiven and souls are made whole.
At Kanye PHC and the Christian community at large, he was more than a pastor. He was a watchman on the wall, a father to the weary, and a voice that refused to let the church forget its first love. Those who sat under his ministry will tell you he did not entertain you,he confronted you. He would look past your status, your title, your excuses, and call you back to repentance, holiness, and a life surrendered to Christ. It wasn’t always easy to hear, but it was always true. That is the mark of a hard-core Christian, to love people enough to tell them what will save them, not just what will make them feel better for an hour.
Reverend Lesole lived what he preached. His life was marked by prayer at odd hours, by visits to the sick when no one was watching, by a refusal to let bitterness take root even when the church wounded him. He believed the old hymns, he lived the old disciplines, and he trusted the old promise: that the blood of Jesus is still enough. If you ever wondered what a man looks like who has made his peace with the cross, you only had to spend time with him.
We will lay his body to rest, but the message he carried does not die with him. The old rugged cross still stands, and because of men like Reverend Lesole, many of us know where to run when life breaks us. May we honor him not with empty words, but by picking up that same cross, denying ourselves, and following Christ without compromise.
Rest well, servant of God. You fought the good fight, you finished the course, you kept the faith. And now the Master you served without apology says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
To Tebogo Lesole and siblings,I send my condolences boy.
Benjamin Kelepang.
