DOCSLIB.ORG

The Persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama A marriage of inconvenience: the persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.crp3b10019 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org A marriage of inconvenience: the persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama Author/Creator Dutfield, Michael Publisher U. Hyman (London) Date 1990 Resource type Books Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) Botswana, United Kingdom Source Northwestern University Libraries, Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies, 968.1 S483Zd Rights By kind permission of Heather Dutfield. Description The story of the marriage of Ruth Williams, a white "English girl", and Seretse Khama, an African prince from the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, present-day Botswana. The book tells the story of their marriage, the threat it posed to the British government in Bechuanaland and throughout its colonies, their exile to England and the larger consequences of the British attacks on the psyche of the African public. Format extent 242 pages (length/size) http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.crp3b10019 http://www.aluka.org A Marriage of Inconvenience A Marriage of Inconvenience The Persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama Michael Dutfield UNWIN LONDON HYMAN SYDNEY WELLINGTON First published in Great Britain by the Trade Division of Unwin Hyman Limited, 1990 (K Michael Dutfield, 1990 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Unwin Hyman Limited. UNWIN HYMAN LIMITED 15-17 Broadwick Street London W1V 1FP Allen & Unwin Australia Pty Ltd 8 Napier Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia Allen & Unwin New Zealand Pty Ltd with the Port Nicholson Press Compusales Building, 75 Ghuznee Street, Wellington, New Zealand. -\ (C British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Dutfield, Michael A marriage of inconvenience: the persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama. 1. Great Britain. Khama, Ruth. Interpersonal relationships with Khama, Sir Seretse, 1921-80. South Africa. Khama, Sir Seretse. 1980 interpersonal relationships with Khama, Ruth I. Title 941.085'092'4 ISBN 0-04-440495-6 Typeset in 11 on 121/2 point Palatino by Columns of Reading Printed in Great Britain by Hartnoll Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall. To Margaret my mother and Heather my wife 16 17 19 14 Contents Preface page ix Introduction xi 1LondonLove 1 2 Children of the Kalahari 10 3 The Bishop Decides 25 4 Seeing Sense 35 5 Stern Realities 40 6 A Fire Burning 46 7 Seachange 58 8 Pula! 64 9 The Perfect Chief 74 10 God's People 79 11 For the Greater Good 85 12 In the Interest of the Nation 97 13 No Alternative 107 14 'Mrs Jones' Flies Out 113 15 Loaded Dice 121 16 Cover-up 130 17 The Invitation 139 18 Money on the Table 146 19 Tricked! 156 20MidsummerMadness 168 21 Shattered Faith 175 22 Sleepless Nights 188 23 Together at Last 198 24 Exile 202 Postscript 208 Bibliography 216 Index 218 List of Illustrations Map of Bechuanaland, now the Republic of Botswana page x Between pages 114 to 115 1. Clement Attlee (Top/am) 2. Patrick Gordon-Walker (Topliam) 3. The Right Revd William Wand, Bishop of London (Topliam) 4. Sir Evelyn Baring (Tophanl) 5. Philip Noel-Baker (Tophani) 6. Ruth's sister Muriel and their Mother and Father (Lady Khanla) 7. Tshekedi Khama (Hulton Picture Library) 8. Ruth and Seretse after their marriage (Lady Khamia) 9. The marriage certificate 10. Seretse pleading his case at the Kgotla 11. Ruth waves at the plane at Mahalapye (Lady Kiaima) 12. Ruth meeting Seretse as he arrives for a weekend visit (Lady Klzama) 13. Arriving in exile 14. Ian Khama as Paramount Chief (Lady Kianma) 15. The twins Tshekedi and Tony with Jacqueline (Lady Kiama) 16. Lady Ruth Khama (Lady Kizama) Preface This is a work of fact. None of the characters is fictitious, none of the events imagined. It is a synthesis of the memories of those who were involved and of the hitherto secret documents left behind by powerful men now dead. The better to engage the reader, the book is written in a narrative style. This has involved the creation of dialogue in direct speech. On every occasion, such creations are based on clear documentation or the vivid recollection of one of the participants. The long speeches given by various tribesmen in the Kgotla meetings in Serowe, for example, are based on the detailed notes taken down by the resident missionary at the time, and translated and typed up by him every evening. Those notes and other relevant London Missionary Society documents are stored at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. The confrontations between Seretse Khama and various British government ministers are drawn directly from contemporaneous notes written by civil servants present at the meetings. Similarly, other discussions between officials and ministers, secret until now, reflect exactly the official records. Those documents, stored in the British Public Record Office, are listed in the Bibliography. I hope that by adopting an accessible style based rigorously on documented evidence and vivid memory, the reader will enter into the drama and emotion of the events here depicted assured that what is read is as true to what actually happened as surviving testimony will allow. M.J.D. London, January 1990 ix Map of Bechuanaland, now the Republic of Botswana. Introduction The door opened in a blaze of African sunlight and Lady Khama swept into the room. As slim as in the 40-year-old photographs I had seen, her hair still more blonde than grey, she greeted me brusquely and suggested we drive into town for morning coffee. It was a suggestion which sounded like an instruction. Parking near the central shopping area, we walked quickly through the glare and the heat to a hotel verandah. On either side of us people watched her, nodding a greeting when she caught their eye. The widow of the dead President commanded deep respect in Botswana. The waiter showed us to a shaded table and she ordered. I had only a few hours in the country before catching my flight to London that afternoon and had managed to reroute my ticket on my way home from an assignment in neighbouring South Africa. She had agreed to meet me. For four years I had been writing to her and reading the published reports of her life. I had been little more than a year old when her name had been in headlines from Britain to South Africa, India to the USA. Then, as Ruth Williams, a 24- year-old English girl, she had met Seretse Khama, an African prince and heir to the chieftainship of a tribe of more than 100,000. They had fallen in love and married, setting heads shaking and tongues wagging from the London of their courtship to the tribal capital on the edge of the Kalahari Desert which was his home. To begin with, that marriage between black and white had been no more welcome in the round, mud huts of Africa than in the smart restaurants of the West End. But even the prejudice and bitter rejection they had both suffered then were nothing to what followed. Within a year of their wedding, the young couple had provoked an astonishing sequence of events that has never been explained. For reasons it never justified, the British government had embarked on what appeared to be a vendetta against them, robbing Seretse of his Introduction birthright and his people of their chief. In the process, he and Ruth had been forcibly separated at the very time when she needed him most. When, at last, the British drove them both into exile, the loyalty of blacks throughout the Empire was undermined and the moral basis of the whole government was shaken. Why had it happened? What had this young couple done to deserve such hostility? What had been their crime? Why should a marriage provoke such vindictiveness? Was it simply that he was black and she white? Was it because of pressure from South Africa whose policy of apartheid was even then enslaving 15 million blacks? If so, what hold did South Africa have over Britain to enforce her will? A hundred questions were asked at the time but had never been answered and the world had moved on. Those answers, I knew, were only partly to be found in the person sitting opposite me sipping coffee. There were clues to be discovered in a string of villages along the south-eastern edge of the Kalahari with names like Palapye, Mahalapye, Mmadinare and Shoshong.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Social Life of Khadi: Gandhi's Experiments with the Indian
    The Social Life of Khadi: Gandhi’s Experiments with the Indian Economy, c. 1915-1965 by Leslie Hempson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2018 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Farina Mir, Co-Chair Professor Mrinalini Sinha, Co-Chair Associate Professor William Glover Associate Professor Matthew Hull Leslie Hempson [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5195-1605 © Leslie Hempson 2018 DEDICATION To my parents, whose love and support has accompanied me every step of the way ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OF ACRONYMS v GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS vi ABSTRACT vii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: THE AGRO-INDUSTRIAL DIVIDE 23 CHAPTER 2: ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS 53 CHAPTER 3: WRITING THE ECONOMY 89 CHAPTER 4: SPINNING EMPLOYMENT 130 CONCLUSION 179 APPENDIX: WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 183 BIBLIOGRAPHY 184 iii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2.1 Advertisement for a list of businesses certified by AISA 59 3.1 A set of scales with coins used as weights 117 4.1 The ambar charkha in three-part form 146 4.2 Illustration from a KVIC album showing Mother India cradling the ambar 150 charkha 4.3 Illustration from a KVIC album showing giant hand cradling the ambar charkha 151 4.4 Illustration from a KVIC album showing the ambar charkha on a pedestal with 152 a modified version of the motto of the Indian republic on the front 4.5 Illustration from a KVIC album tracing the charkha to Mohenjo Daro 158 4.6 Illustration from a KVIC album tracing
    [Show full text]
  • Mandela at Wits University, South Africa, 1943–19491
    UCLA Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies Title “The Black Man in the White Man’s Court”: Mandela at Wits University, South Africa, 1943-1949 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3284d08q Journal Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 39(2) ISSN 0041-5715 Author Ramoupi, Neo Lekgotla Laga Publication Date 2016 DOI 10.5070/F7392031110 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California “The Black Man in the White Man’s Court”: Mandela at Wits University, South Africa, 1943–19491 Neo Lekgotla laga Ramoupi* Figure 1: Nelson Mandela on the roof of Kholvad House in 1953. © Herb Shore, courtesy of Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. * Acknowledgements: I sincerely express gratitude to my former colleague at Robben Island Museum, Dr. Anthea Josias, who at the time was working for Nelson Mandela Foundation for introducing me to the Mandela Foundation and its Director of Archives and Dialogues, Mr. Verne Harris. Both gave me the op- portunity to meet Madiba in person. I am grateful to Ms. Carol Crosley [Carol. [email protected]], Registrar, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, for granting me permission to use archival material from the Wits Archives on the premise that copyright is acknowledged in this publication. I appreciate the kindness from Ms. Elizabeth Nakai Mariam [Elizabeth.Marima@ wits.ac.za ], the Archivist at Wits for liaising with the Wits Registrar for granting usage permission. I am also thankful to The Nelson Mandela Foundation, espe- cially Ms. Sahm Venter [[email protected]] and Ms. Lucia Raadschel- ders, Senior Researcher and Photograph Archivist, respectively, at the Mandela Centre of Memory for bringing to my attention the Wits Archive documents and for giving me access to their sources, including the interview, “Madiba in conver- sation with Richard Stengel, 16 March 1993.” While visiting their offices on 6 Ja- nuary 2016 (The Nelson Mandela Foundation, www.nelsonmandela.org/.).
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of the Native Advisory Council in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1919-1960
    The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, vol. 13, nos. 1 & 2 (1999) The role of the Native Advisory Council in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1919-1960 Kenneth R. D. Manungo The Bechuanaland Protectorate lagged behind most British African colonies in the development of its government. In 1920 a Native (later "African") Advisory Council was established, representing mainly the chiefs. Key issues for the Council included raclla dlscrlmmatlOn m the Protectorate, agricultural improvement, and (above all) preventing the Protectorate's transfer to the Union of South Africa. Despite calls for constitutional development, it was not until 1960 that a Legislative Council for the Protectorate was established. Background on British rule in the Protectorate British rule in Africa has been the subject of discussion by many scholars who have written on the Colonial era in Africa. Apart from a few divergences most of these sources indicate that there is a general agreement on the nature of the British Administration in their colonial territories. I "Pax Britannica" had no clear cut policy for the administration of its colonies or protectorates. What is certain is that Britain needed colonies where she could obtain raw materials and also markets for her products without much cost to the exchequer. This resulted in a policy that was later to be called "Indirect Rule".
    [Show full text]
  • Educated. Empowered. Unleashed
    YOUNG AFRICA: Educated. Empowered. Unleashed. 6th -14th July 2019 tents About United World Colleges 3 About Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa 4 Welcome to UWC Africa week 2019 5 Past UWC Africa Week Speakers 7 Schedule of events 9 Tin Bucket Drum – The Musical 11 Past UWC Africa Week events in pictures 16 Con 2 About United World Colleges 3 About United World Colleges About Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa 4 nited World Colleges (UWC), is a global Today, over 9,500 students from over 150 countries Welcome to UWC Africa week 2019 5 education movement that makes education are studying on one of the UWC campuses. Over Past UWC Africa Week Speakers 7 Ua force to unite people, nations and cultures 65% of UWC students in their final two years receive Schedule of events 9 for peace and a sustainable future. It comprises a a full or partial scholarship, enabling admission to a network of 18 international schools and colleges UWC school to be independent of socio-economic Tin Bucket Drum – The Musical 11 on four continents, short courses and a system means. of volunteer-run national committees in 159 Past UWC Africa Week events in pictures 16 Since the foundation of the first UWC college in countries. 1962, UWC has inspired a network of more than UWC offers a challenging educational experience 60,000 alumni worldwide, who remain engaged to a deliberately diverse group of students and with the UWC movement and committed to places a high value on experiential learning, contribute to a more equitable and peaceful world.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report of the Colonies. Nyasaland 1922
    This document was created by the Digital Content Creation Unit University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2010 COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. No. 1162. NYASALAND. REPORT FOR 1922. (For Report for 1921 see No. 1158.) LONDON: PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE to be purchased trough any Bookseller or directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses! Imperial House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2, and 28 Abingdon Street, London, S.W.I; York Street, Manchester; 1 St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; or 120 George Street, Edinburgh. 1923. Price 61. Net. COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. No. 1162. NYASALAND. ANNUAL GENERAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1922.* GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL. BOUNDARIES. The territory comprised in the Nyasaland Protectorate is a strip about 520 miles in length and varying from 50 to 100 miles in width. It lies approximately between latitude S. 9° 45', and 17° 16', and longitude E. 33° and 36°. The area is roughly 40,000 square miles, or about one-third the area of the British Ioles. The most southerly portion of the Protectorate is about 130 miles from the sea as the crow flies. This strip falls naturally into two divisions: (1) consisting of the western shore of Lake Nyasa, with the high tablelands separating it from the basin of the Loangwa river in Northern Rhodesia, and (2) the region lying between the watershed of the Zambesi river and Shire river on the west, and the Lakes Chiuta and Chilwa and the river Ruo, an affluent of the Shire, on the east, including the mountain systems of the Shire Highlands and Mlanje, and a small portion, also mountainous, of the south-eastern coast of Lake Nyasa.
    [Show full text]
  • The Decline in the Role of Chieftainship in Elections Geoffrey Barei Democracy Research Project University of Botswana
    The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, Vol.14 No,1 (2000) The decline in the role of chieftainship in elections Geoffrey Barei Democracy Research Project University of Botswana Abstract This article focuses on three districts of Botswana, namely Central District, Ngwaketse District and Kgatleng District. It argues that as a result of the role played by the institution of chieftainship in elections, certain voting paltems that are discussed in the conceptual framework can be associated with it. The extent to which chieftainship has influenced electoral outcomes varies from one area to another. Introduction Chieftainship was the cornerstone of Botswana's political life, both before and during the colonial era, After independence in 1966 the institution underwent drastic reforms in terms of role, influence and respect Despite the introduction of a series of legislation by the post-colonial government that has curtailed and eroded the power of chiefs, it still plays a crucial role in the lives of ordinary people in rural areas, Sekgoma (1993:413) argues that the reform process that has affected chieftainship so far is irreversible, The government is not under pressure to repeal parts of the Acts that
    [Show full text]
  • Hitcham and Taplow Society Newsletter Spring 2016
    Hitcham and Taplow Society Newsletter 105: Spring 2016 £3.50 to non­members www.taplowsociety.org.uk Hitcham and Taplow Society Formed in 1959 to protect Hitcham, Taplow and the surrounding countryside from being spoilt by bad development and neglect. President: Eva Lipman Vice Presidents: Tony Hickman, Fred Russell, Professor Bernard Trevallion OBE Chairman: Karl Lawrence Treasurer: Myra Drinkwater Secretary: Roger Worthington Committee: Heather Fenn, Charlie Greeves, Robert Harrap, Zoe Hatch, Alastair Hill, Barrie Peroni, Nigel Smales, Louise Symons, Miv Wayland­Smith Website Adviser & Newsletter Production: Andrew Findlay Contact Address: HTS, Littlemere, River Road, Taplow, SL6 0BB [email protected] 07787 556309 Cover picture: Sarah & Tony Meats' grandson Herbie during the Race to the Church (Nigel Smales) Editorial Change: the only constant? There's certainly a lot This Newsletter is a bumper edition to feature of it about. Down by the Thames, the change is a few milestones: two cherished memories of physical (see Page 7). Up in the Village, it is not­so­long ago were revived recently to mark personal (see Pages 17, 18 & 19). Some changes the Queen’s 90th birthday (see Pages 9, 14 & 15) stand the tests of time (see Pages 10­13 & 16). and Cedar Chase celebrates its Golden Jubilee Will the same be said for potential changes in (see Pages 10­13). Buffins and Wellbank are of the pipeline (see Pages 4, 5 & 6) which claim similar vintage; perhaps they can be persuaded roots in evidence­led policy­making while to pen pieces for future editions. We are whiffing of policy­led evidence­making? delighted to welcome Amber, our youngest­ever The Society faces three changes.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Report (PDF)
    BTI 2020 Country Report Botswana This report is part of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI) 2020. It covers the period from February 1, 2017 to January 31, 2019. The BTI assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries. More on the BTI at https://www.bti-project.org. Please cite as follows: Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2020 Country Report — Botswana. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2020. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Contact Bertelsmann Stiftung Carl-Bertelsmann-Strasse 256 33111 Gütersloh Germany Sabine Donner Phone +49 5241 81 81501 [email protected] Hauke Hartmann Phone +49 5241 81 81389 [email protected] Robert Schwarz Phone +49 5241 81 81402 [email protected] Sabine Steinkamp Phone +49 5241 81 81507 [email protected] BTI 2020 | Botswana 3 Key Indicators Population M 2.3 HDI 0.728 GDP p.c., PPP $ 18583 Pop. growth1 % p.a. 2.2 HDI rank of 189 94 Gini Index 53.3 Life expectancy years 68.8 UN Education Index 0.664 Poverty3 % 38.5 Urban population % 69.4 Gender inequality2 0.464 Aid per capita $ 46.3 Sources (as of December 2019): The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019 | UNDP, Human Development Report 2019. Footnotes: (1) Average annual growth rate. (2) Gender Inequality Index (GII). (3) Percentage of population living on less than $3.20 a day at 2011 international prices. Executive Summary Botswana is expected to hold its 12th general elections in October 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Hydro-Social Permutations of Water Commodification in Blantyre City, Malawi
    Hydro-Social Permutations of Water Commodification in Blantyre City, Malawi A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2014 Isaac M.K. Tchuwa School of Environment Education and Development Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ 2 List of Figures ................................................................................................................. 6 List of Tables ................................................................................................................... 7 List of Graphs ................................................................................................................. 7 List of Photos .................................................................................................................. 8 List of Maps .................................................................................................................... 9 Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 10 Declaration .................................................................................................................... 11 Copyright Statement .................................................................................................... 12 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • DSE Suid-Afrikaanse INSTITUUT VAN INTERNASIONALE AANGELEENTHEDE the SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE of INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
    DSE SUiD-AFRiKAANSE INSTITUUT VAN INTERNASIONALE AANGELEENTHEDE THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Jan Smuts House/-Huis P.O. Box/Posbus 31596 1 Jan Smuts Avenue/Laan 1 2017 Braamfontein Braamfontein, Johannesburg South Africa/Suid-Afrika Tel: 39-2021/22/23 T.A. 'Insintaff' Johannesburg Brief Report Tfo. 40 Not for Publication BOTSWANA PKCEOT HISTORY AND CUPPENT DEVELOPMENTS Botswana,1 one of South Africa's closest neighbours, has recently been subject to some press interest. At the end of "Wl, the focus was on Botswana's military capability and the Possibility that Botswana had received arms from the Soviet Union. In May this year, it was reported that Botswana's President, Dr Ouett Masire, had declared a State of anergency in the face of widespread drought in Botswana. This Brief Report deals with recent developments in Botswana and is divided into : 1) Background Information and Statistics 2) Political Background 3) Economic Developments 4) Poreicm Policy Issues 5) An Assessment — 2 — 1. BACKGROUND BSIFOPMfiTION AMD STATISTICS Political Status % Formerly the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland and one of the three High Commission Territories, gained independence from Britain on 30 September 1966, under the .leadership of the late Sir Seretse Khama. Present Ruling Party - Within a Multi-Party system is the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). President • Dr Quett Masire, who took office on 13 -July 19£0? is an Executive President and also Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The National Assembly % legislative newer vested in the 36-member National Assembly and 15-member Advisory Rouse of Chiefs. Life of Assembly is 5 years„ Population, s.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SEROWE KGOTLA RIOT of 1952: POPULAR OPPOSITION to TSHEKEDI KHAMA and COLONIAL RULE in BOTSWANA Neil Parsons
    THE SEROWE KGOTLA RIOT OF 1952: POPULAR OPPOSITION TO TSHEKEDI KHAMA AND COLONIAL RULE IN BOTSWANA Neil Parsons It also means that the wishes of the Bamangwato, clearly expressed as they have been, are to be disregarded, who, in any case, are the Bamangwato to have wishes? Let them know their place. Rand Daily Mail (Johannesburg) Editorial, 8 December 1951. The viciousness of the attack can be ascribed to drink and the part played by women. PRO-DO 35/4149 (Draft Note for Cabinet by W A W Clark, 7 June 1952) Introduction Botswana in southern Africa is, as Pope John Paul I1 told the world on a September 1989 stop-over, "an island of peace in a troubled sea". [l] Besides military incursions by its neighbours (in 1900, 1976-79, and 1985-88), there has been only one incident of civil violence leading to death over the course of the last century - the Serowe kgotla riot of 1952. The riot in the kgotla (public forum or courtyard) at Serowe, on Sunday 1 June, 1952, was the climax of ten days of unrest and a weekend of demonstrations. Six delegates of the Bangwato people had arrived back at Serowe on Wednesday 21 May from a futile trip to London. They had flown off to persuade the British government to restore to them their rightful Chief, Seretse Khama, who had been debarred from accession to the chieftainship by the fiat of a Labour government in March 1950. But the Bangwato delegates of 1952, led by Keaboka Kgarnane and Peto Sekgoma, were baulked by a new Conservative government which pre-empted their move by announcing that the ban on Seretse was permanent.
    [Show full text]
  • Radiotimes-July1967.Pdf
    msmm THE POST Up-to-the-Minute Comment IT is good to know that Twenty. Four Hours is to have regular viewing time. We shall know when to brew the coffee and to settle down, as with Panorama, to up-to- the-minute comment on current affairs. Both programmes do a magnifi- cent job of work, whisking us to all parts of the world and bringing to the studio, at what often seems like a moment's notice, speakers of all shades of opinion to be inter- viewed without fear or favour. A Memorable Occasion One admires the grasp which MANYthanks for the excellent and members of the team have of their timely relay of Die Frau ohne subjects, sombre or gay, and the Schatten from Covent Garden, and impartial, objective, and determined how strange it seems that this examination of controversial, and opera, which surely contains often delicate, matters: with always Strauss's s most glorious music. a glint of humour in the right should be performed there for the place, as with Cliff Michelmore's first time. urbane and pithy postscripts. Also, the clear synopsis by Alan A word of appreciation, too, for Jefferson helped to illuminate the the reporters who do uncomfort- beauty of the story and therefore able things in uncomfortable places the great beauty of the music. in the best tradition of news ser- An occasion to remember for a Whitstabl*. � vice.-J. Wesley Clark, long time. Clive Anderson, Aughton Park. Another Pet Hate Indian Music REFERRING to correspondence on THE Third Programme recital by the irritating bits of business in TV Subbulakshmi prompts me to write, plays, my pet hate is those typists with thanks, and congratulate the in offices and at home who never BBC on its superb broadcasts of use a backing sheet or take a car- Indian music, which I have been bon copy.
    [Show full text]