Batswana royal jailbirds of the past

GASEBALWE SERETSECorrespondent

The recent detention of the Kgosikgolo of the Bakgatla-ba-ga-Kgafela, Kgosi Kgafela II by the state has left many die-hard traditionalists aghast, not surprisingly so because it is not everyday that one gets to hear of a royal going to jail.

 Article Tools E-mail a friendPrint  According to a recent Mmegi report, Kgafela revealed the horror that he experienced in prison when he said: “I believe going to jail was a God-ordained mission, for it was while there that we saw some of the worst human rights violations we could never have known about had we not gone to jail. It is not only the prisoners who suffer but also the guards themselves.”

Kgafela and his lieutenants continued to portray prison as a hell hole, where those detained were forced to wear filthy and threadbare blankets infested with lice. They also mentioned the poor diet the prisoners have everyday.

From the stories that the royals related, who it is safe to assume are accustomed to comfortable if not luxurious lives, it is easy to tell that they had it tough while in jail.

Writing for a local Sunday newspaper, one horrified Thabo Seleke, who is obviously a supporter of the disgraced Kgosikgolo wrote: “The defining moment for Bogosi in general is what is being presented by Kgosikgolo Kgafela II and Batswana must stand up and protect their heritage. Politics is a short term lease and we should not be fooled and abused by politicians to despise our Dikgosi. We must protect them, stand up for them from abuse and misuse by politicians and their hangers on”.

One disgruntled prominent Mokgatla suggested on her Facebook page that the detention of her Kgosikgolo was an abomination that is why it did not rain in Kgatleng around that time. Interestingly, upon the release of the Kgosikgolo a few days later it indeed rained and the Mokgatla believed that the gods or God was cleansing the earth after the ‘abomination’ that happened in Kgatleng.

As mentioned earlier, is obvious that the detention of their Kgosikgolo did not sit well with many Bakgatla who deem him to be a little god as goes the Setswana saying, Kgosi modingwa…, roughly meaning that the kgosi is like a demi-god and therefore no evil shall be done to him or spoken about him.

While many have been shocked by the events of the past few weeks, history would reveal that Kgosi Kgafela II is not the only reigning Kgosikgolo to be disgraced by the State. The youthful Kgosi together with his younger brother and some senior members of the Bakgatla morafe were accused of illegal floggings in Kgatleng and remanded in custody for a few days.

A number of reigning Dikgosi have been jailed, exiled and deposed by the State (and other senior Dikgosi) especially during the colonial era.

Mmegi takes a look at reigning Dikgosi who were in the past disgraced by the State and also discusses what led to their detention and deposition and in most of the cases, this happened during the colonial era.

Kgosi Sekgoma LetsholathebeSekgoma Letsholathebe became the regent of the Batawana in 1891 because his nephew and heir apparent, Mathiba was too young to reign. According to Jeff Ramsay and others in their book, Building a Nation, as soon as he ascended the throne he campaigned to be approved by the morafe as the proper kgosi by loaning out many cattle (mafisa) to poorer people gaining many allies in the process. Sensing that the man wanted to usurp the bogosi for himself a large number of people led by members of the royal family and the affluent opposed him and called for Mathiba to be installed when he became of age.

One day in 1905, when Sekgoma went to South Africa to seek medical attention his enemies colluded to have Mathiba installed by asking him (Mathiba) to come to Ngamiland by train from South Africa for the event.

According to historians, when Sekgoma heard about the conspiracy, he headed back to Botswana hoping to be the first to arrive.

The British administration decided to intervene because they did not want fighting to break out between the two men.

According to Ramsay and others, in 1906, the then Resident Commissioner went to Ngamiland and after consulting the Batawana he declared Mathiba kgosi. Although Mathiba was the proper kgosi, Sekgoma was more popular and to avoid any fight between the supporters of the two Sekgoma was jailed.

Sekgoma would languish in jail for many years until 1912 when he was eventually allowed to go to settle in Chobe where a large section of the Ngamiland’s people joined him. He died two years later.

Kgosi Sekgoma Letsholathebe became one of the first reigning dikgosi to be jailed by the administration which was under Ralph Williams at that time.

Kgosi Sebele IIWhen Colonel Charles Rey was Resident Commissioner in Bechuanaland, he perceived that the Bakwena Kgosikgolo, Kgosi Sebele II had a rebellious streak in him, was lazy and a hopeless drunk, so in 1931, he deposed and exiled him to Gantsi. Although Sebele was not kept in a conventional prison, he was not free to go wherever he wanted. Poor Sebele died a few years later in a desolate place away from his people. The deposition of Sebele II is the major factor that has contributed to major succession disputes among the Bakwena because contrary to tradition and despite the fact that he had been a proper Kgosikgolo, his descendants never sat on the Bakwena throne ever since then.

She John NswazwiMany Batswana have heard of many quarrels and fights between the Bakalanga-ba-ka-Nswazwi leader, She John Nswazwi and Bangwato regent Tshekedi Khama. The first debacle between Tshekedi and Nswazwi happened in 1926 soon after the installation of the former. The Ba-ka-Nswazwi were instructed to take part in the construction of a fence that divided the then Bechuanaland Protectorate and Southern Rhodesia. The ba-ka-Nswazwi for reasons best known to them chose to abandon the project unfinished.

The reason that they gave was that they had other commitments like ploughing and raising money for the hut tax that had been imposed on them by the British government.

This was seen by some as a move on the part of the ba-ka-Nswazwi to show first signs of wanting to assert their independence. Phethu Mphoeng, a lieutenant of Tshekedi Khama had a field day, punishing the ba-ka-Nswazwi cattle for their defiance of the kgosi’s instructions. In the first instance the ba-ka-Nswazwi were ordered to pay a fine of cattle which they obviously paid with a large degree of reluctance.John Nswazwi and his people continued to defy Tshekedi’s orders. In 1943, the ba-ka-Nswazwi earned the regents wrath by requesting political asylum in Southern Rhodesia, a request that was rejected, for this and other acts of disobedience, Tshekedi saw to it that Nswazwi was imprisoned.

The Kalanga leader was released on February 5, 1945 after serving an 18-month jail term. On learning about Nswazwi’s release, the British administration on Tshekedi’s advice dispatched some government officials to Palapye with the order that he (Nswazwi) should report to Serowe where the regent would give him a lecture.

Nswazwi chose to ignore the order by heading straight home. It is safe to assume that Tshekedi had been looking for an opportunity to provoke Nswazwi while Nswazwi on the other hand had been itching for a chance to defy the regent.

According to some accounts, Nswazwi was given a hero’s welcome back in his village and seizing the advantage of the glorious welcome, he instigated his people to revolt against Tshekedi and this and other events would lead to the burning of Nswazwi’s village and his banishment to Zimbabwe which is perhaps one of the most controversial happenings in the history of this land.

Kgosi Tshekedi KhamaIn the early 1930s during the regency of Tshekedi Khama, there was a young white man in the Bangwato capital of Serowe, Phineas McIntosh who together with his friend Henry McNamee went around the village on wild drinking sprees and skirt-chasing. According to research conducted by this writer and recorded in the book, Tshekedi Khama: The Master Whose Dogs Barked At, as if that was not enough, the two went around picking fights with Bangwato lads and impregnating Bangwato girls. Tshekedi who despised sexual liaisons between blacks and whites reported the matter to the Resident Commissioner but he was ignored. In June 1933, he summoned McIntosh to the Serowe Kgotla to answer charges of improper conduct. The white youth was found guilty and sentenced to flogging to the obvious amusement of the Bangwato men gathered at the Kgotla.

As McIntosh was about to be flogged, he rushed to Tshekedi’s side presumably to beg for mercy but Bangwato men thought he was about to attack their Kgosi and fell upon him with sticks and knobkerrie. The flogging and assault of McIntosh greatly infuriated the British administration.

Tshekedi’s chief enemy of the time, Charles Rey who had been itching to get rid of the regent for a long time was said to have boasted, “I’ve got the little bugger now!” Together with the acting High Commissioner, Admiral Evans, they put Tshekedi to trial with a great display of British might in order to curb any possible insurgency.

According to Tshekedi’s biographer Mary Benson in her book Tshekedi Khama, a naval detachment of 200 sailors and marines with three big guns from the ships at Simonstown, South Africa were dispatched to Serowe.

Tshekedi’s trial was held in Palapye and Evans presided. Tshekedi and the more than 15,000 Bangwato subjects who had come to show solidarity with their Kgosi had powerful guns trained on them in order to intimidate them.

Although the Bangwato had brought their own guns (albeit less sophisticated), knobkerries and sticks in defiance, Tshekedi managed to restrain them.

At the end of the trial, Tshekedi Khama was deposed and exiled to Francistown where he was detained.The regent was however freed and reinstated two weeks later.

Kgosi Gobuamang Another Kgosi, who was greatly embarrassed by the British administration, was Kgosi Gobuamang of the Bakgatla-ba-ga-Mmanaana. Just like John Nswazwi of the ba-ka-Nswazwi, he wanted to assert the independence of his own people and this led to many tussles between him, the Kgosikgolo of the Bangwaketse, Kgosi Bathoen II (in whose supposed land he and his people stayed) and the British administration. In fact at one point during Gobuamang’s rebellion, one white administrator wanted to see his (Gobuamang’s capital of Moshupa bombed.

Despite the fact that this formidable Kgosi was old, he was badly harassed by Bathoen II and the British administration and that led to the split of the Ba-ga-Mmanaana resulting in some staying in Ngwaketse while others moved to Kweneng. Although this case is not given as much prominence as the tussle between Tshekedi and John Nswazwi, these cases are startlingly the same. Both Gobuamang and Nswazwi were agitating for the independence of their respective merafe and they greatly suffered at the hands of their senior Dikgosi and the British administration in the process.

Mmegi Online :: Batswana royal jailbirds of the past

Tags: Charles Rey, Mary Benson, Jeff Ramsay

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