Mystery surrounds reported change of guard at the Bangwato main kgotla in Serowe, with the tribe’s substantive kgosi and former president, General Ian Khama, saying that he doesn’t know anything about such change of guard.
The current regent is Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane and has been in post since 1979 and last Monday, a Rwandan publication called Taarifa broke the news that Ewetse Khama, who was based in Kigali, was stepping down from his job at APO Group to become Bangwato Regent. This is perfectly understandable because Kgamane is of advanced age and is currently on a contract of employment that ends next year June.
“From today, Ewetse is stepping down from his role at APO Group, the leading pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service, to serve his country and his people,” the publication reported on its website.
The story was subsequently picked up by The Botswana Gazette, a local online publication which republished it whole, and last week’s Mmegi did an interview with Ewetse about his new role.
There should be nothing eyebrow-raising about Ewetse replacing Kgamane because he (Ewetse) is at the heart of Ngwato royalty. He is the son of Sekgoma Khama, the second-born son of Tshekedi Khama, the meritocratic, if controversial Ngwato royal who served as Bangwato Regent for 25 eventful years. Tshekedi’s father was the iconic Khama III and his brother, Kgosi Sekgoma, who died while the crown prince, Seretse, was only four years old. While he never ruled himself, Seretse (later Sir Seretse) became Botswana’s founding president and bequeathed his cultural position to his son, Gen Khama. Tshekedi had two sons: Leapetswe and Sekgoma. Ewetse is Sekgoma’s son. At the time that Sir Seretse was president, Leapetswe was the regent.
Beginning 1925 when Kgosi Sekgoma died, the Bangwato traditional leadership has always been led by a regent. At least according to what Taarifa reports, Ewetse will be next in that long line of regents.
However, this reported ascension is eyebrow-raising for the reason that the person Ewetse would be holding the fort for (Gen Khama) says that he is unaware of his elevation. When the Taarifa article came out, it caused a lot of confusion and consternation among some senior members of the royal family. While Khama is the ultimate decision-maker in matters relating to who occupies the regency, there is a centuries-old tradition that requires him to consult with (especially) senior members of the royal house – whom the Regent has to work closely with. The latter means that under no circumstances should members of the royal family learn about the appointment of a new regent from the press, especially one that is thousands of kilometres away.
Seeking to get clarity on this issue, Sunday Standard reached out to Khama through an aide – from whom we learnt that Khama had also been made aware of the Taarifa article. The response from Khama, relayed via this channel, was “I know nothing about this.” This is even more confusing because it raises the question of why Ewetse would quit what must have been a lucrative job (“Ewetse has now moved on to serve his community and country”) when there is no firm assurance that he will replace Kgamane? He is now so emotionally invested in his new role that he had to teach Rwandan reporters some Setswana.
“Ewetse is now looking to bring the communications skills he honed in the PR industry into his new role as a Kgosi – a Batswana term meaning ‘Chief’, ‘King’ or ‘Elder’ – where his responsibilities include fostering local consensus and governance while also promoting social welfare and the economic empowerment of disadvantaged groups,” reports Taarifa.
To be clear, there are some peripheral issues that the Rwandan publication gets wrong. It says that “this year, Ewetse’s father, Sekgoma Tshekedi Khama, retired from active duty in the Bamangwato tribe. This made way for the eldest son, Ewetse to assume his father’s role as a Kgosi.” That is false because Sekgoma, who has worked in the foreign service and is long retired, has never assumed any formal role in the Bangwato tribal administration. Only his elder brother, Leapetswe, served a stint as regent. There has also been no change in the executive tribal leadership of Bangwato this year.
There is an even more ticklish issue tied to a sour outcome involving Ewetse’s cousin, Seretse, who is Leapetswe’s son. Ahead of the 2019 general election, Seretse had expressed intent to run for political office in the Serowe North constituency. Another member of the royal family, Ramadeluka Seretse, was also eyeing the same constituency – which he had been MP of before being toppled by Kgotla Autlwetse, the current Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. To avoid a situation where members of the Bangwato royal family had to slug it out in public for the same seat, Seretse was offered the position of Bangwato Regent. However, that deal didn’t work out too well because Seretse fell out of favour as Kgamane’s replacement. The result was that the Ministry gave Kgamane a two-year contract to enable the search for a suitable replacement. Depending on who you want to believe, that is or isn’t Ewetse.
Ewetse’s royal pedigree is above reproach but there is very strong feeling by some members of the royal family that cultural norm regarding seniority favours Seretse. Solely on the basis of age, Leapetswe was senior to Sekgoma and culturally, such seniority is inherited by children. The latter makes Seretse culturally senior to Ewetse and if a regent has to be chosen from Tshekedi’s house, the former is the clear favourite.
Then again, history shows that bogosi (traditional leadership) has never operated predictably, that it is amply flexible around the idea of “rightful” office holder and that the kgosi can act unilaterally. In the particular case of the Bangwato, Kgosi Mathiba, who established the tribe’s independence from Bakwena, passed up Crown Prince Tawana for inheritance of the kgosi position in favour of the latter’s younger brother, Prince Khama.
