28 Jan 2020

Kgosi Puso Gaborone of Batlokwa on Saturday gathered his subjects at a kgotla meeting to announce the tribal leadership’s intention to celebrate Tlokweng’s 140 years of existence.

The event is  expected to bring together Batlokwa who live in and outside Botswana, among them Batlokwa who reside in South Africa and Lesotho as well as those who live in Tobane and Kopong among others.

The mother of all event which is billed for October this year, Kgosi Gaborone stated, is intended to be a huge historic event ear marked to celebrate the history of Batlokwa and document the history in writing and through various media platforms.

The celebrations, according to Kgosi Gaborone are meant to revive the tribe’s cultural legacy and spirit but above all to instill a sense of pride among the tribe.

This comes at a time where cultural festivities are now becoming a common practice among Batswana.  In this case, Dithubaruba cultural festival of Bakwena ba ga Sechele comes to mind and is an equally important calendar event. 

Also, Bakgatla ba ga Kgafela make a pilgrimage sojourn to Moruleng every year.  Bakalaka also celebrate their culture in a special way through the Domboshaba cultural event.

Equally so, Kgosi Gaborone, wants their event to enjoy the same status and magnitude since 140 years denotes that indeed Batlokwa are a major tribe.

When presenting the tribal leadership’s thoughts and suggestions in preparation for the event, he said they suggested that the story behind the establishment of Tlokweng village be told. 

Also that the tribal leadership succession as well as the structure of dikgotla and where they started should also be documented and told by selected custodians of the history of the Batlokwa.

Therefore Kgosi Gaborone implored morafe to take ownership of the event and make contributions through their various skills to make the day a memorable one.

Mohumagadi Thandiwe Gaborone also urged Batlokwa to support the tribal leadership and come up with ideas that will spice up the day.  She suggested that an executive committee be set up to kickstart the preparations as well as fund raising activities.

Meanwhile Tlokweng residents were receptive to the idea and assured Kgosi Gaborone that they would give him the full support. They also concurred with Mohumagadi that a committee be set up and give periodic updates through kgotla meetings. ENDS