28 Mar 2022

Bogosi must be abolished because it has become irrelevant. 

This was the view of one Mr Joseph Sango of Khwai as he presented to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Review of the Constitution. 

Mr Sango said in addition to the role of dikgosi being irrelevant in today’ society, the tribal leaders had from old been known to be overly authoritarian, and as a result often trampled upon the rights of some of their people. 

Elaborating his point of view in an interview later, he said the Basarwa communities did not originally have dikgosi, yet they still functioned fairly well.

 He explained that at family level back then in their communities, the men as the heads of households were responsible for how families functioned, and said because they discharged that function well, members of their communities lived together in harmony. 

Mr Sango is particularly critical of the institution as he believes once it was introduced to Basarwa communities it changed their course of life, and introduced evils found elsewhere. 

“Bogosi le bogologolo bo ne bo gatelela batho. Fela jaaka go ne go katwe ke tsamae ke ye go bolaa dibatana ke tle go kgetha ka tsone, e ne e le kgatelelo golo moo,” he said and added that dikgosi also used tribal regiments to perpetuate human rights abuses. 

Mr Sango’s view is in stark contrast to numerous calls made by people around the country to give dikgosi more power. 

Another speaker, Mr Oatshela Ikageng wondered why the law did not recognise Basarwa despite history showing that they were the original inhabitants of the country. 

Rooting for the equality of tribes, Mr Letebele Sejwara wondered why all tribes were not equally recognised when the drafting of the constitution found them already living in Botswana then. 

“Were all these other tribes left out because they were not in the country when the constitution was written?” he asked rhetorically. 

Khwai-Mababe councillor Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotho who also called for the recognition of all tribes further proposed that tribal territories be abolished so that no morafe would have its autonomy limited by being located within the territory of another. 

Additionally, he said having each tribe represented in Ntlo ya Dikgosi would further cement tribal equality and foster the spirit of true brotherhood among tribes. 

Raising an unrelated issue Mr Tlhagiso Raditsela requested that the law should compel government to distribute resources equitably.  He said Khwai residents were being treated unfairly as they had been made to use impassable roads for decades with no plan in place to address their problem. 

This, he said was a result of lack of equity in the distribution of the country’s wealth. 

Kgosi Merafe Mothala of Khwai had in welcoming the commission called for the law to foster tribal tolerance by recognising all of Botswana’s tribes. 

He observed that for the local tribes to have co-existed peacefully for this long was evidence of how much they cherished tolerance, a value that he said the law should further nurture through equal recognition of all tribes. ENDS