Francistown’s history can be likened to a buried treasure rusting under the soil and waiting to be discovered. This is so because the city has not fully utilized and documented some of its heritage sites which have been left to dilapidation.
A straw that broke the camel’s back is that there is no fully-fledged museum to help document the history of the city.
Museums are important because they give an insight into the history of an area and its people. It is unfortunate that Francistown being the second city of Botswana solely relies on a small privately run Supa Ngwao Museum. The government has since announced before Francistown City Council two years ago that it will a establish a fully-fledged museum in the second city.
Here is a glimpse of why Francistown has a very rich history. In 1897 Francistown which was a small town then began as an affluent gold mining town. The first gold rush in Southern Africa was in this very town even before Johannesburg in South Africa.
Engrained in the North East part of Botswana, the humble town’s economy then was sustained by gold until the 1930’s. According to historians, before it even became a mining town, there was habitation near the area which can be traced to over 10 000 years ago.
The Ndebele are believed to have colonized the area in the 1830’s, which was then only known as Nyangabgwe and was inhabited by the Bakalanga tribe. Bakalanga who are still the dominant tribe in the city are believed to have been mining in the area for centuries.
At some point Nyangabgwe village was even visited by the famous English missionary Robert Moffat. In 1867 Karl Mauch an European explorer arrived and found the Bakalanga mining gold along the Tati River and publicized the Tati Gold fields which then sparked the Southern Africa gold rush. Another miner and explorer William Daniel Francis from Britain also arrived in the area in 1897 and acquired a prospecting license to mine gold in the Monarch area.
Francis would later become the Director of a mining company (Tati Concessions Company) which acquired land from Ndebele Chief Lobengula.
It was later owned by another European businessman Cecil John Rhodes who also was a gold explorer. It was ultimately sold to Bennet Glazier in 1954 giving birth to the present-day Tati Company Limited. Tati Company Limited has often come under the wrath of the natives accusing it for stealing land and leaving them landless. However, the company which is now owned by a family Trust has often defended itself from the barrage of accusations asserting that it surrendered most of the land rights to the government of Botswana after the country got independence in 1966.
Francistown was named after Daniel Francis. Before independence in 1966 Francistown transformed into one of the largest commercial centres. In 1897 Tati Concession company sold part of its land for residential and commercial purposes ultimately transforming Francistown into a fully-fledged gold mining town. Between 1936 and the 1980’s Francistown’s economy was hinged on the Witwatersrand Native Labor Association (WENELA) a company that vigorously recruited labour for South African mines. However, what seemed to have been a noble initiative to transport labour through air by WENELA to South Africa turned into disaster in April 1974 when a four engine Douglas DC Aeroplane crashed and killed over 70 passengers. Those who witnessed the accident describe the grim scene as an indelible scar that will never fade away from the memories of many residents of Francistown.
The first tarred road in Botswana was in Francistown and was named after the prominent Haskins business family. Haskins street still exists to this day. What makes Francistown’s history even more thought-provoking is that it had its fair share of challenges during the years of the liberation struggles in Southern Africa from both Rhodesia and the apartheid regime in South Africa.
It played a very critical role in the 1960 and 1970’s, by aiding refugees who were fleeing racial and colonial oppression from many African countries in the region. In the early 1960’s, Francistown was a place where the region’s freedom fighters often covertly interacted. South African and Mozambican refugees from the south mingled with Zimbabweans from the east and Namibians from the west. A number of families who migrated to Botswana from neighboring countries found Francistown to be a safe haven.
The history of Francistown is synonymous with the aching story of the liberation struggle in Southern Africa. Many nationalist leaders from the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), Zimbabwe African’ Peoples Union (ZAPU), South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), used Francistown as a transit on exile or an area to get in touch with their fellow liberation fighters.
Some of these leaders include among others, Former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki and Joe Slovo of ANC, Former Presidents of Namibia Sam Nujoma and Hifikeponye Pohamba and Herman Toiva Ja Toivo of SWAPO, Former President of Zimbabwe the late, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo and Dumiso Dabengwa of ZANU and ZAPU and John Mabunda of FRELIMO.
All these political activities brought with them terror to the people of Francistown. Bomb blasts haunted Francistown from Mophane club, Blue town and Satellite locations. Some of the significant historical events in Francistown include an aeroplane that burnt down to ashes when it was supposed to take South African refugees to Tanzania in 1964, the bombing of a house in Bluetown that had refugees from Zimbabwe in 1976, the attack of the then Police Mobile Unit(PMU) in 1976 by the Rhodesian army which compelled the Botswana government to establish a military.
Nonetheless, Francistown has over the years transformed into a modern city although it is plagued by economic challenges. It has an international airport, malls, hotels and stadiums. It was declared a city in 1997. It is also surrounded by a number of mines but sadly most of them have closed due to a slump in commodity prices. This had a serious negative impact on the economy of the second city which has also been worsened by the current Corvid 19 outbreak.
Despite this dark cloud, cultural tourism through investment and protection of heritage sites has the potential to turn around the economy of Francistown given its rich history. Unfortunately, some of the historical sites that can attract tourism in Francistown have been left to decay and are not protected. Even worse, Francistown has never had a fully-fledged museum to fully document all these historic sites.
Cultural tourism is considered the most significant and diverse tourism phenomena of recent years. Cultural tourism is regarded as a tourism modality that capitalizes on cultural heritage.
Across the world, cities and regions are increasingly investing in enhancing their cultural tourism opportunities to capture this large and growing market. Countries that have benefited through cultural tourism include Egypt which has the (world famous pyramids), the (great walls of China) in China and France with its magnificent Eiffel Tower.
Historical sites in Francistown that have the potential to be protected and become part of the cultural tourism in the city include the Hexagonal building which was owned by one medical doctor Dr Morgan during the colonial era. He built this house as a guest house. It was later used as a dispensary by the Jubilee hospital.
This building sits forlorn and adjacent to BHC offices where it has been left to rot. Another dilapidated structure paints a lonely and sordid picture in satellite location just opposite the Francistown Industrial Court. The structure bears the walls of a house that was bombed by the South African apartheid regime during the years of the liberation struggle in that country. The house was occupied by South African refugees who were killed during the bombing.
This historic site is slowly being reduced into a pile of dust and getting swallowed by the thickets. There is nothing to show that it is a historic site apart from a hidden rusting plaque that seems to have been put there many decades ago. What is even heart wrenching is that there is no access road to reach this site.
There is also another abandoned mining cottage house situated on the west side of Nyangabwe Hill. Apparently, it was used by the Monarch Gold miners during the colonial era. It has been reduced to shambles and some of its surviving remnants are possibly used to harbor criminal activities.
In an interview with The Telegraph Abel Mabuse who is a historian and the founder of Abel Mabuse Heritage Group is of the view that most historic sites in Francistown are only protected in paper and not in reality. Mabuse Heritage Group is a non-governmental organization and its objective is to do transformation of heritage landscapes for cultural tourism.
“These historical buildings are protected by the Monument and Relics Act of 2001.Although they are protected, I feel that this protection only exists on paper. We have buildings such as the Hexagonal building and the old miners’ cottage at the foot of Nyangabwe Hill. It is unfortunate that these kinds of buildings have been left to dilapidate and yet they carry a lot of history,” he said
“These historic buildings are part of the Francistown Heritage trail. Historic buildings are supposed to be protected for their architectural value or due to historical events,” he added.
Mabuse said the National Museum in 2010 made an attempt to protect these historic sites and help lure in cultural tourism but nothing much has been achieved. He said these historic sites have potential to attract tourism to the second city more so that its economy was adversely affected by the closure of several mines in its vicinity. He emphasized that it is unfortunate that some of these buildings are not protected and yet they have the potential to attract tourists who often pass through Francistown to other destinations.
“Tourists should have the reason to spend time in Francistown rather than just using it as a transit to other areas of interest. It is through cultural tourism that such can be achieved and such historic sites are crucial in that regard. Tourists should spend their money in the city which will help boost the local economy,” said Mabuse.
He explained that rehabilitating old buildings to their initial appearance does not only add character to a specific area, but can also help attract investment, as well as tourism. He said the Greater Francistown district has 14 historic sites which are part of the Bukalanga history.
Mabuse said that the fact that the first gold rush in Southern Africa started in Francistown makes the second city a significant and unique city. He revealed that he used to work for the monument and museum department and his contribution was the development of historical map of the greater Francistown. He further said that whenever a historic building or site is destroyed it dies with history.
“It is important that whenever new developments are made, an assessment is made to make sure that historic buildings or sites are not destroyed as they also have value. They have to be protected at all costs,” he said.
Stella Rundle who is the former Director of Supa Ngwao Museum in Francistown also shared the same sentiments with Mabuse. She said there is no doubt that government is neglecting these historic sites despite it having laws in place. She said that government seems to be hell bent in protecting these sites on paper rather than through implementation.
“Government has formulated some laws to try and protect the history of various historic sites but this seems to be only in paper. It seems there is no implementation. There is a specific act which stipulates what needs to be protected automatically and anything that is of national interest. Government is doing the right thing by having those laws and sadly these laws are not implemented by the same government,” she said.
She said some of the historic buildings that are protected by government are destroyed by the same government. She gave example of the destruction of the old train station in Francistown which was replaced with a new building. She also said that even private owned historic buildings are protected by the law.
“In fact, there is a trend by private owners who simply leave the historic buildings to dilapidate without maintaining them into their original shape. It is painful to see a historic building that has stayed for years being bulldozed within minutes,” she said.
Asked if this is done to try and give way for new buildings and save land she differed and said, old buildings can simply be renovated so that they retain their design and historical value. This she said will help preserve history at the same time adding to aesthetic value of the area.
The Acting Director at the Department of National Museum and Monuments Philip Segadika began by explaining that the department has developed tourist circuits or heritage trail across the country to assist tourists in planning their tour itineraries. He said in the case of the Greater Francistown, the terrain comprises of 31 sites and it is made up of the Francistown City trail, Tati trail, Domboshaba trail and Nswazwi trail.
“The Francistown trail has 14 sites and it covers historical buildings, craft centres and historic cemeteries as well as geological formations such as in Gerald Estates,” he said.
Segadika explained that while Greater Francistown trail may have 31 sites, the same broader landscape will actually have about 150 or more heritage sites. Asked on why some of these sites are not taken care of he said some of the sites being on open space face numerous challenges. He said after the recent heavy rains there will obviously be an overgrowth at some sites.
“We therefore advise tourists at booking time so that they are equipped with appropriate adventure gears,” said Segadika.
He said the National Museum has been investing resources in the valorization, conservation and presentation of these sites. He gave example of their recent completion of the refurbishment of the colonial administration jail wardern’s residence at the government camp in Francistown. He said government has engaged custodians of Supa Ngwao Museum to guide tourists in this rich colonial enclave. He also said the police canteen in the same landscape was refurbished by the Botswana Police with guidance from the National Museum to ensure heritage integrity and authenticity.
“Down town in Francistown there is the historic Anglican Church and the house previously occupied by Deloitte and Touche which are examples of other monuments under our custodianship,” he said.
Segadika also said further afield at Domboshaba in the greater Francistown trail the department has awarded tender for construction of a camp site and restaurant. He however said for a long time their concern was with resources, manpower and others. He said the situation on the ground may not be impeccable as yet but with direct inspiration from the Permanent Secretary Dr Oduetse Koboto in the Ministry of they have begun a rigorous and systematic elimination of all the challenges. The good days are ahead.
Botswana Tourism and the District Commissioners office in Francistown had still not responded to the Sunday Standard questions at the time of going to press. Several efforts to also contact the Mayor of Francistown Godisang Radisigo also proved futile as his phone could not be answered.
