Ghanzi In History (Part 8) Samkoa & Sheppard

Our last instalment noted that by August of 1922 many Khoe (Basarwa/ 'Bushmen') in the Ghanzi District, as well as then South African administered South West Africa (SWA, i.e. Namibia), were reportedly attracted to the emerging resistance movement led by a 'bandit' leader known as Samkoa.

News of the growing threat posed by Samakoa’s brigands was communicated to the Ghanzi Magistrate, Capt. A.L. Cuzen by the Acting Magistrate at Gobabis, SWA, Lt. E.L. Grayson, in a dispatch dated August 19, 1922:

“I daresay that you have heard that the late Magistrate at Gobabis- Capt. van Ryneveld- was shot by Bushmen on the 26th. ultimo and died by the same day. We have a small force operating against the Bushmen at present- approximately at 21 N and 19 East. These Bushmen have been raiding cattle for several months past on a scale which hasn’t been experienced before and threatening anyone who went in pursuit of them. It is possible that the result of the present operations may be that these Bushmen may cross your border.”

Editor's Comment
Closure as pain lingers

March 28 will go down as a day that Batswana will never forget because of the accident that occurred near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo, South Africa. The tragedy affected not only the grieving families but the nation at large. Batswana throughout the process stood behind the grieving families and the governments of Botswana and South Africa need much more than a pat on the back.Last Saturday was a day when family members said their last goodbyes to...

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