Mmegi

Khama’s uncles hold on to keys

INNOCENT SELATLHWA Staff Writer

In the heart of Serowe, there is a horse shoe shaped hill, at the far right top of the hill where the royal cemetery lies. Only those born to be chiefs and their wives are buried there.

Amongst those resting there is Kgosi Khama III. The hill known as Serowe Hill is of rich history, with amongst other things, a historical house where founding President Sir

Seretse Khama was born.

Another notable monument is The Green House, Khama III’s first and only residential home as it is referred to. While former Bangwato regent, Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane has since removed his belongings from a dilapidated house he previously occupied, he chose to hand the keys to royal uncles who have vowed to never hand them over to the government.

The government claims ownership of the said house through the Tribal Administration while Bangwato royals claim the property belongs to Morafe. In a quest to unearth the truth about the ownership of the land, Mmegi spoke to various stakeholders and it would seem like a landmark court case could be on the cards to determine the matter.

Royal uncles in Serowe called a Press Conference for the first time since their wrangling with the government started. “This place we are in belongs to Bogosi and Morafe of Bagammangwato. This house was built in the 1900s by Kgosikgolo Khama and his Morafe. This house was used by rulers starting with Khama II. Only Kgosi Khama can dictate who stays in this house by appointing them as regents.

We were shocked by insubordination of the Ngwato Tribal Secretary who wrote and signed a letter telling Kgamane on November 2, 2022 to the effect that he should vacate the house.

The following day, the Director of Local Government and the Tribal Secretary went to Kgamane in Shoshong telling him to vacate the house because we were going to use it to politic. But that is not the case,” Kgosi Rasebolai Kgamane said.

He further said they wanted government to produce proof that the house belongs to it. “They have been writing letters claiming ownership of the house. They should freely avail evidence. They might have the documents, but we will search archives and do everything possible to prove the ownership of the house.

We would rather have the president send a firing squad to kill us in this house but no one is going to enter this house. We have seen dogs, guns and everything used to intimidate us. Kgamane stayed here for 35 years and has never paid rent for the house. Government has never even maintained this house.

The house is even currently dilapidated,” Rasebolai said. Meanwhile, Kgosi Omphile Motsokono pointed fingers at one of the royal uncles from the olden day Lenyeletse Seretse for a mistake that made government think they own the royal house.

“This was the first house to be built for Kgosi Khama as the people moved from Old Palapye to Serowe. There is nothing that government did to contribute to it. It happened that Kgosi Lenyeletse Seretse was appointed Tribal Administration Secretary. In 1971, when Land Boards started, there were not many educated people. Lenyeletse Seretse wanted to join tribal administration and Land Boards. Hence he built these houses here through the Land Boards. This house is dilapidated, government has never maintained it while Kgosi Kgamane stayed there and he did not have a problem with that because it does not belong to government,” he said.

That’s my great grandfather’s house - Ian Khama.

For his part, former president and Kgosi of Bagammangwato, Ian Khama says the move by government is definitely part of the regime’s childish vindictiveness, harassment and attempts at intimidation towards him and others.

“Royal historians in Serowe who were born in the 1920s and 1930s and are alive today, confirm that the Green House as it is commonly known in royal circles in Serowe is the royal residence of my great grandfather Khama III. It is not a government house and has never been.

Khama III built it himself with the help of Mophato when he settled his Morafe in present day Serowe after relocating there from Old Palapye. Our Dikgosi since then through Uncle Tshekedi Khama, Rasebolai Kgamane and later all our Tribal Authorities who stood in for me have all lived in that house at the Kgotla in keeping with their royal privileges and tribal administration service as authorised by myself as Kgosi. They include the late Kgosi Mokgacha and the current Bangwato Tribal Authority Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane who is the present day occupant of that house until his official retirement,” he said.

Khama emphasised that the house forms a central part of the Royal structures that make up Kgotlakgolo in Serowe being the main Kgotla itself, the Tribal Chamber that in the past accommodated the Central District Council before Council had its own chamber, and the royal cemetery at the top of the hill. “Government has no share or any form of ownership of any of those”, he said.

This is government property - Tribal Secretary

Just across the road from the disputed house, Mmegi team found the Serowe Tribal Administration Secretary, Badiredi Olerile who said they were still waiting to receive keys from Kgamane. “We have a lease proving that we own this piece of land including the house. You can even check with the Land Board and Archives and you will get the truth.

After independence, in 1977, properties owned by Morafe including the house, schools and farms were moved to the Councils for custodianship. Kgosi Kgamane took office in 1988 and occupied the house later in 1994 after it was renovated for him. While he was in the house, Council Secretary of that time Gabothuse Dijeng transferred back properties like the house, the hall and Leupeng farm to be under tribal administration and not Bogosi as Kgosi Kgamane states,” Olerile pointed out.

Quizzed on why they have not been maintaining their house and why Kgamane was not paying rent, Olerile said it was an administrative lapse. “We might have not maintained it nor collected rentals from him due to administration lapse. However, that does not take government’s rights to the property,” he said. Olerile further shared a tribal lease sketch for plot 16511, which contains the house, the Kgotla, the hall and other properties. He referred this publication to the Ngwato Main Land Board for further details.

However, attempts by this publication hit a snag as the Acting Deputy Board Secretary Balati Marumo said their files were confidential between plot owners and the Land Board.

Quizzed on how they would deal with the dispute, Marumo said they will look at all evidence presented. “We currently do not have any dispute registered on ownership of that particular plot.

We expect information to be contained in our file about any transactions that happened. We also understand olden record keeping was problematic, however, that does not mean we cannot use all information gathered to determine facts shall there be need to,” he said.

Olerile is not telling the truth - Kgamane

In an attempt to further verify collected information, the publication visited Kgamane in Shoshong where he said he moved to just a day after he was removed from office. He states that he has always known that the house belonged to Bogosi and Morafe and that even though the house was once transferred to government, it was later returned to them. “When I arrived from Shoshong to work at the Kgotla in 1988, the house was dilapidated and I went to stay in a government pool house where I paid rent for the four years I stayed there until 1992.

I would later move into the house after government fixed it alongside other houses in the plot used by public servants. Shortly after occupying it, the then Council Secretary Dijeng came to me telling me that they were now returning the house to Bogosi. They had been taken over at independence to assist council who had no properties.

It was Khama’s house and it was only right that they returned it to the royal family. We spoke about it and I do not recall of anything done in writing,” he said. Kgamane said they were also given back the farm and council hall. He said he would then form the Ngwato Development Trust so it would take care of Bagammangwato properties.

He said government has never helped maintain the house but rather Morafe through mephato helped maintain the house over time. Kgamane said at some point, St John church also volunteered and maintained the house for him as he had no expectations from government. “I even housed Khama Rhino and Ngwato Development Trust in some of the houses in the compound because I knew I am in charge.

These people are not even collecting rentals from those tenants because the said houses are under the care of Bogosi not through tribal administration. I was shocked to the core to be told I was evicted from a house where I stayed. I knew the house belonged to Morafe. It is for that reason I left the keys with uncles because I know the house does not belong to government. Even after leaving office early this year, I knew I had rights to it because traditionally I am still the regent. I have been doing my duties on behalf of Khama and I would use the house occasionally when in Serowe,” he said.

History says it is not government property

Historian Dr Jeff Ramsay also dismissed the government’s claim to the house. “When I first heard that government claimed to own the property, I thought it is a joke. This is such an embarrassment. The government should just let it go because they do not own the house. It was Kgosi Khama’s first modern residential house as he preferred roundavels.

There should never be a dispute that the property belongs to the royal family and Morafe,” he said. Another historian, Abel Mabuse is also of the view that it is absurd for government to claim ownership of the royal house.

“This house belongs to the Khama family and not the government. The residence was not built by the British government and there cannot be any claim of inheritance by the Botswana government, which came into existence in 1966 under the leadership of Sir Seretse Khama who grew up in this residence as well”. “The house is neither a gazetted National Monument protected under the Monuments and Relics Act 2001 to claim any linkages with the government of Botswana.

Finally, my understanding of heritage laws of Botswana is that the Royal residences of any Dikgosikgolo, Dikgosi and Dikgosana of any of the tribes of Botswana do not belong to the government of Botswana through the Ministry of Local Government. They are private properties which belong to them and where appropriate, the Morafe,” he said.

Bogosi Crisis

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2022-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://enews.mmegi.bw/article/281590949587124

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