The final chapter of the bitter history of Bangwato under Tshekedi and Baka-Nswazwi under John Nswazwi closed Saturday with the re-burial of the latter's remains at Nswazwi village. The remains were exhumed from Jetjeni where he died on May 14, 1960 while on exile. Vice President Seretse Khama Ian Khama closed the chapter with a call for national unity- a characteristic of post-independence Botswana.
Nswazwi was exiled to Rhodesia in 1948 by the colonial government, which had earlier banished him to Mafeking. His banishment was a culmination of years of acrimonious struggle with Tshekedi ? a regent of Bangwato. Nswazwi, born in Nswazwi village in 1875, ruled from 1910 to 1960 having succeeded his father Kuswani.
Baka-Nswazwi, are originally Bapedi of Mujaji (Rain Queen) from Potgiteruss in South Africa. They are found in Tutume, Nswazwi, Marapong, Masunga and Nkange with a common totem of 'Khupe' or hare. The praise name adopted for men is "Ntombo" and for women is "Ba-Chilalu" (BaTjilalu).
They have been assimilated over the years into Kalanga culture and lost their language. They call themselves "Baperi", a corruption of the word Bapedi. They left the Transvaal under Chief Tjilalu (Kelalu) of Ramapulane and wandered via Johannesburg, Mafeking and Mogonono in Kweneng to the Tswapong hills where they stayed and planted crops. When the rains failed they headed north, but when the rains came a group returned to the Tswapong hills and settled there. They are Batswapong called Bakgopeng.
Those who moved crossed Mocloutse into Bulilima-gwa-Menwe, the area of the Kalanga State that was ruled over by Chief Menwe of Banyayi, and settled along the Nyamambisi River, a tributary of the Shashe River. They later separated? Tjilalu's sons, Selolwane (Tjilagwane) and Shabalume, led separate groups.
Selolwane's group settled near Nkange River, and Shabalume went to Domboshaba near the upper Shashe to his maternal uncle, Ntale, chief of a group of Bakhurutshe. They intermarried with the Bakhurutshe.
Shabalume became a famous hunter and used the wood from the nswazwi (mokabi) tree to make the shaft for his spear. When he killed a buffalo, he praised his weapon saying: "Nswazwi wa pomba N'ombe" (the nswazwi tree has entangled the beast). He came to be called Nswazwi and his followers Baka-Nswazwi. The Baka-Nswazwi genealogy starts with Shabalume who became Nswazwi I.
In the early 1800, Bangwato under Kgari and Ndebele under Mzilikazi attacked them. When they fled from Mzilikazi some sought refuge from Sekgoma, the father of Khama III at Shoshong. The remnants of this group are still found in Serowe. Others settled in Letlhakane along the Boteti River and others near Dukwe Quarantine Camp.
When the Ndebele were defeated in 1893 and the boundary between Bechuanaland Protectorate and Rhodesia drawn in 1899, the home of the BakaNswazwi chief was left inside the Protectorate, but some of his people were on the other side.
They later crossed into Bechuanaland to join their chief, Kuswani Nswazwi (Nswazwi VII). They were a close allay of Khama, and Nswazwi was responsible for the Bukalanga area. This amicable relationship ended with Tshekedi who, in his dealings with Bakalanga, bypassed the Baka-Nswazwi and used his appointees to govern the area. Nswazwi, who had been in power since 1910 resisted.
Trouble started in 1926 when Tshekedi ordered the BaKalanga to build a fence along the southern Rhodesia border, which coincided with the onset of the ploughing season. Tshekedi also imposed a cattle levy on the BaKalanga to help pay for his trip to London.
In October 1929, Nswazwi wrote a petition of grievances and sent it directly to the resident commissioner, rather than to Tshekedi. The petition brought Nswazwi directly into conflict with Tshekedi. Baka-Nswazwi were ordered to Serowe but Nswazwi went to Mafeking to appeal to Resident Commissioner Daniel. Daniel referred the matter to Tshekedi and Nswazwi and others were brought to Serowe.
In June 1930, the new Serowe magistrate, Gerald Nettelton, held the inquiry and ruled in Tshekedi's favour. Nswazwi and five others were banished to Serowe, and Tshekedi's representative, Rasebolai Kgamane, was sent with a party of Bangwato to rule the Baka-Nswazwi.
In 1942 Nswazwi got into a fight with the acting Mongwato overseer, and when the following year Tshekedi came to BuKalanga to reallocate land Nswazwi did not attend his meeting. He was tried and convicted of "insubordination" and in 1943, he entered prison for eighteen months. When Nswazwi was released in 1945, he went straight to his village but in February Tshekedi ordered him to Serowe and sent his representative Tauyakgale and a Bechuanaland Protectorate police officer, who were assaulted by the people.
The colonial government retaliated against the assault of a white officer and a Bangwato mophato was armed with rifles, armoured cars and teargas were brought in from Southern Rhodesia, and planes were flown in from South Africa and Rhodesia to circle above Nswazwi's village.
Nswazwi and 122 others were trucked to Serowe. Nswazwi and 35 others accused of assault were banished to Mafeking. The British tried to banish Nswazwi to Ghanzi, but he successfully appealed against the decision. Those who remained, launched a resistance campaign lead by veterans of World War II. They elected Nyena Chemela acting leader.
In August 1947, Tshekedi ordered 150 of these agitators to live in Serowe, but they resisted by taking their case to court.
They lost, but before they could appeal to the Privy Council in London, many women and children fled into Southern Rhodesia. By November 1 600 refugees had crossed into Southern Rhodesia.
A group of Baka-Nswazwi returned in 1959 after having been asked to do so by Seretse Khama and settled at Marapong under the leadership of Mampori Muchawacha who had been assigned by the ailing Nswazwi. Nswazwi had intended to follow later. Before his death he had earlier expressed to Seretse at a meeting in Serowe, after Seretse's return from exile, his desire to return to Bechuanaland. Seretse had no objection. Nswazwi's uncles are the Tjitjana group in Serowe.
By 1959, Nswazwi was 84 years old and sickly and he died before fulfilling his wish, leaving behind a small population of about 500 stateless followers in Zimbabwe. Although they had been given permanent residence they were denied Zimbabwean citizenship.
Khama calls upon Sengwato and Paje residents to be responsible citizens 17 June, 2002
Residents of Sengwato and Paje have been called upon to be responsible citizens by taking care of the infrastructural developments provided by government.
Addressing kgotla meetings at the two villages last week, the Vice President Seretse Khama Ian Khama said people vandalise infrastructural developments such as telephone booths and stand pipes provided by the government.
He said some people even sell food provided for destitute and orphans.
He said people should appreciate that it is their hard-earned money that is used to provide the services.
He also called upon his constituents not to wait for his meetings to complain or raise concern about the things that trouble them, but to report their concerns and complaints to the relevant offices.
Briefing the residents of the two villages about the Anti-Retroviral drugs (ARV), the health minister Joy Phumaphi said the drugs are not a cure for the disease, and advised Sengwato and Paje residents to take care of themselves. She said the drugs will not be given to every HIV positive person, but those with a high virus count and urged those who will be given the drugs to use them according to prescription.
She also warned people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol to refrain from them, as they are dangerous to their health.
Land redistribution alone would not resolve food crisis 17 June, 2002
The SADC executive secretary, Prega Ramsamy, says the distribution of agricultural land would not help resolve the food crisis in the region if it is not accompanied by appropriate support mechanisms.
"We are saying it is not enough to distribute land only, people need capital, they need extension services, especially the rural farmers so that they can learn and adopt new and effective means of agricultural production," said Ramsamy.
Speaking at a post-C Ministers meeting ouncil briefing on Friday, he said through the multi-donor projects SADC was employing the services of agricultural experts to look at ways of increasing production and reduce reliance on rain fed agriculture. SADC Council of Ministers chairperson, Lillian Patel said SADC was facing a looming food crisis with six of its member states, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe the worst hit.
"To this end, we have agreed to prepare a comprehensive regional appeal covering immediate as well as long-term requirements while the UN system is preparing a consolidated appeal for food and non-food items which it will launch by the end of June 2002 in New York, USA," she said.
In the meantime, she said, the World Food Programme will continue distributing food to the six most hard hit countries where more than four million people were starving.
On the issue of realising the 30 per cent quota of women in politics and decision making by 2005, she said the SADC secretariat was preparing a format for member states to present their progress reports on gender.
Patel, also Malawi minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-orperation, said the SADC Summit adopted that member states present reports at the annual SADC Summits on the steps they have taken towards achieving the 30 per cent target of women in politics and decision making by 2005.
At an earlier briefing, SADC gender officer, Ataliah Molokomme had said SADC governments committed themselves to the promotion of women in the 1997 Declaration on Gender.
On whether the 2005 target was practical, Molokomme said the target was not only proving difficult for SADC member states only but the world over.
"In 1985 it could have been practical had countries started taking specific steps in education and other such measures but what many of our countries did not realise was that they had to do something," she said.
She said in Uganda women empowerment was working because of affirmative action but regretted that there were countries, which did not believe in it.
The average percent of women in parliaments in the region stands at 17.9 per cent, well above the Commonwealth 7.2 per cent and the global 11 percent.
South Africa, Seychelles Mozambique and Tanzania have taken bigger steps in achieving the 30 per cent quota and Botswana has also made significant progress, doubling its women representation in parliament from nine to 18 per cent in the 1999 general elections.
