Lord Of The Kgalagadi

In last week’s episode Kgosi Sebego had defeated and expelled the Ovambandero of Tjamuaha from Ghanzi region. The Bangwaketse victory is said to have been amply rewarded in captured livestock; as reflected in the following passage from Sebego’s praise poem (as recorded in 1938 by Kgosikobo Chelenyane):

“Ketswa le motlhasedi Tlammeng [Matlamma=Tjiherero speakers], ke tswa go bona ka ditlhaba dilwela, banna bajana kaseputlela sa lerumo. Dikgomo tsa bokone magolonkwane; di gola maoto, dinaka ga digole, magolonkwane oo Rrakgaodi....Thamaga di diboll’a bola; dikgomo di ditshubaba Rramaomana, Rramaomana aMokube. Ke ile le motlhasedi Tlammeng, ngwana wa namane tse ditlhaba, mmusi, tse ditlhaba tsa motse wa Matlamma; re diraetse molamu wa tshukudu, re re tlhaba di khubame ka mangole, di lebe go ene, moabi a Khuto. Ke goreetseng kare o moabi? Nkabo ke rile motlhasedi, nkabo ke rile motlhasela-batho.”

Another apparent legacy of Sebego’s short residence in Ghanzi was the introduction of the ivory trading and large scale commercial hunting into the region. There can at least be no doubt that his mephato’s communal hunting practices, e.g. encircling game over a wide area, were of an altogether different scale and nature to the traditional, environmentally sustainable, practices of the local Khoe.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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