Jantjie spent most of his life protecting the rights to land of his people and is considered a struggle hero for his battle against British colonialism.
Jantjie was outspoken against the land invasion, however, he initially took a non-violent approach towards the British which included boycotting the rural trading stores.
In addition, Jantjie fought for his people to attain equal rights to purchase diamond licenses so that they could share in the wealth that was being excavated on their land.
Jantjie's confrontations with British authorities earned him the epithet of being “a wild fellow who hates the English”.
The rebel leader (as they had described him) Luka Jantje, who had died bravely in the fight against the colonial forces, was buried where he fell.
As a sign of humiliation, it was reported that, while Jantjie was dying, Searle and his troops posed to take photos with him, decapitated his corpse and took his head as a trophy.
In the aftermath, 4 000 men, women and children of the Bwere were taken captive and sent to the Cape Colony to work as unpaid labour for local white farmers.