Fifty-six years ago, on the day when the country attained independence, almost all major villages were lit yet there was no electricity supply except by generators specifically for hospitals. The scout movement had other ideas. They established camp fires at the top of hills in their respective villages. During those days, the movement or boy scout as it was also known was very popular. In fact in Mochudi at Linchwe Primary where the principal was Fred Tau of Morwa, membership of the movement was compulsory. Wednesday was the day for scout activities and Thursday was a day for those who absented themselves the previous day to give reasons for their absence. The “judge” always returned a guilty verdict no matter what explanation one advanced.
Although the Boy Scout did not possess guns, they were taken as “soldiers” of the time. It had generally been accepted that should war break out in their locality, or where the interest of the United Kingdom was threatened, they would be conscripted to defend the country. The scout movement was established in 1908 by a British general called Robert Baden-Powell in Mafikeng. Days before the country attained independence, senior members of the Scout Movement selected from all the villages were in Gaborone camping at Aedume Park in Gaborone while the rest remained at their home villages entertaining their people by singing, marching and playing.
For Mochudi the site of the campfire was Phaphane Hill. The hill is centrally located and high enough to illuminate the better part of the village and build anxiety among villagers. Interestingly, it was also the seat of government. Even those who knew little or nothing about the meaning of independence would surely want to know what was happening upon noticing a huge fire on top of the hill. Indeed the flame from camp fire caused anxiety among many people as the flame could be seen as far as Dikwididi, Modipane, Oodi, Matebele and Sebele or Mmopane.
Kenneth Morokotso was one of the veteran scout masters who were among the group that was at Aedume Park. Shortly before midnight, the Boy Scout marched majestically to the National Stadium where they mounted a guard of honour for it to later be inspected by the Prime Minister Dr.Seretse Khama. He recalls gentlemen like Professor Modise Mosothwane, Percy Seoketsi,former radio personality, Stephen Mojela and Ronald Modisenyana as some of those who had been selected from Mochudi to join the main group in Gaborone. They had been selected by the Chief Scout Phillip Mahupela who was community development officer in Mochudi. They stood at easy but in a colourful formation when the national flag was hoisted replacing the Union Jack. He recalls watching Princess Marina among the dignitaries. The Princess was there representing the Queen who has recently died.
Morokotso explains that part of the scout movement’s teachings was discipline and current affairs. For instance they learnt that the colours of the Union Jack were three in one, meaning that they represented England, Scotland and Ireland, hence the praise poem, “the Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom, St. George of England, St, Andrew of Scotland and St. Patrick of Ireland’.
As the Boy Scout assembled in Gaborone a week or so before Independence Day, they were tasked with ironing out a few things. Those included the singing of the national anthem, the meaning of the colours of the Botswana National Flag and the meaning of the coat of arms. The designs for both the coat of arms and the flag which had already been approved by the National Assembly following a motion presented to it by the prime minister. In case you did not know, the zebra was included in the coat of arms because of its neutrality among the Batswana tribes. No tribe in the country could claim it as its totem. Had the choice gone to monkey, duiker, baboon, crocodile, kudu or buffalo, calls would have long been made for its replacement. It would have been seen as representing a particular “major tribe”.
Surely there were very important events which preceded the attainment of independence. Such events included attaining self-government, creation of the national flag and that of the coat of arms.
Bechuanaland Daily News of Monday, February 1st, 1965, shows the speed with which preparations for independence were carried out. T he Bechuanaland (Constitution) Order, 1965, was made in two days time. It was discussed by the Privy Council in London on Friday January 29th, and laid before the House of Commons the following day on January 30th. It came into force immediately. One of the important effects of the coming into force of that order was that it made possible the issue of writs of election by the Commissioner in Bechuanaland that day. Those writs authorized returning officers to accept nominations on Friday, February 8th for the general elections and polls on March 1. The Constitution of Bechuanaland contained provisions for a form of self-government with a ministerial system. It based substantially on proposals agreed at discussions in the Bechuanaland between Her Majesty’s Commissioner, representatives of the chiefs, political parties and important minority communities. The Chiefs were represented by Kgosi Bathoen II, Kgosi Mokgosi III and Kgosi Linchwe II.
In the book, “The Monarchy in Britain”, the role of the Privy Council is to advice the Sovereign on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and as a body corporate, it issues executive instruments known as Orders in Council, which among other powers enact Acts of Parliament.
Three months before the country attained independence, author and a prolific writer, Lady Naomi Mitchison described the country as an accidental one. In the Geographical magazine in June 1966, she penned this article, “The Bechuanaland Protectorate, soon to become the Republic of Botswana, is an accidental country, its boundaries, like so many African ones, follow no logical, ethnological lines, but were drawn in European Chancelleries for the convenience of 19th-century Great Powers, occupied with the scramble for Africa.” She explains that, “Bechuanaland came into being to stop the independent and aggressive Boer Republics in the east and the Germans in South West Africa from meeting and blocking the British Cape to Cairo imperial dream. In doing so, the article states that many Batswana were left out by those who drew the boundaries.
At least unlike in 1966 when the country attained independence, the country is free of drought. At independence, we had gone through six years of devastating drought. Lady Mitchison wrote, “This drought year, the Mochudi family will be lucky to get one meal of porridge in the day, and little go with it, starving cows and goats have no milk. Bilton-dried sault meat-from cattle dead of hunger is unbelievably tough. Last October, with most of the boreholes dry, it could be a daily walk of fifteen miles for mother or daughter with the water-pail on her head”, she emphasized.
The drought that ravaged the country did not attract the attention of Lady Mitchison alone. Writing in the Canadians Talkative, a Cha rles King introduced his story in a more colourful but appealing manner. He stated, “An , arid and hungry land without a hope of achieving economic stability makes its debut this week among the community of nations.” The story was detailed enough showing how the “new blue, white and black flags were flying everywhere in Gaberones”. The writer makes it very clear that in the vast, trackless waste land that “will take the name of Botswana, there is little to celebrate”. He mentions two years of disastrous drought and crop failure as having brought havoc and hunger to its widely scattered agricultural inhabitants. More than one-fifth of the population “is literally being kept alive by emergency feeding and the numbers are rapidly increasing”.
I was doing standard five at Isang Primary School in Mochudi when the country attained independence. I did not understand what they meant when they spoke about getting independence. But I knew the effects of drought. I saw thousand of cattle perishing at our cattle post locality. Some farmers were left with nothing to rear. The international community provided drought pelts for livestock yellow meal-meal, cooking oil, powered milk, maluti and dried fruits for human life. Some wildlife species abandoned their homes to come closer to the people looking for something to survive on. At the community centre in Mochudi, the under-sevens were given a cup of soup free of charge. That was to ensure that they did not succumb to the many diseases of malnutrition.
This year is the country’s 56th anniversary. Celebrations took place amid growing fear of political instability due to squabbling between Ian Khama Seretse Khama who is the former president and current head of state, Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi.
