These are men who believe that their dikgosi are little gods who can never go wrong. Interestingly sycophancy,  bolope, is one aspect of the Setswana culture that has survived the test of time. As a child, this writer first came upon a typical example of bolope when former president Ketumile Masire visited Pilikwe for a Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) event. Party members shouted, "Motho batho! Motho batho" as if they had seen the Messiah himself descending with a halo from heaven.

In recent years, Botswana has seen a number of 'cult' figures rising among them the current president of the Republic, President Ian Khama and Kgosi Kgafela of the Bakgatla. Whenever the former visits rural villages in the country with cameras rolling, he is serenaded by villagers who more often than not seem to be dazzled when they meet the 'monga mmu' ( the owner of the soil) and some even go to the extent of refusing to wash their hands after shaking his hands. It is interesting how the man has always been regarded by many as this mythical figure who could do exploits reserved exclusively for divine agents.

Being a Mongwato, this writer was always bombarded with talks of how Khama could do exploits that could put characters in fantasy movies such as Avatar and The Lord of The Rings trilogy to shame. Khama, according to some sycophants, was able to fly solo into the former Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to annihilate the enemy, in this case the soldiers of the former rebel prime minister Ian Smith. Khama could turn himself into different things he wished, his malope said.

Those who dared question these feats were taunted and regarded as outcasts. Nobody could question Khama and his antics after all he was the heir to Sir Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana and the Kgosikgolo of the Bangwato.

Khama's legend has continued with some members of his BDP believing that this son of Seretse can never go wrong.

According to media reports, the BDP is split into two factions, the dominant one being the A-Team, the group that never questions Khama said to have been led by Jacob Nkate who recently fell from grace when he lost elections and Barata-Phathi who are regarded as renegades.

The A-Team members are portrayed as 'yes men' who worship the ground that Khama walks on and are always willing messengers who are more than ready to execute his will. The despised Barata-Phathi faithful are men who love the BDP, as the name suggests, but are not ready to do any form of bootlicking. The much-loved and youthful Botsalo Ntuane is associated with this group.

Love him or hate him, Khama is a man who has a great following and he seems to relish the attention and adorations that he gets from his 'malope' and the rumour is that sycophants are greatly rewarded in his courts. Interestingly, one fellow writer and Mongwato, Keineetse Keineetse once portrayed Khama as a deliverer in his article, "Khama - the Moses of Tsolamosese strikes the rock" when the President asked the Water Affairs people to reconnect the public water supplies that have been reconnected in Tsolamosese.

"We can now drink water, Good Heavens! And it's thanks to the Almighty and the most benevolent President Ian Khama. It only needed his majestic ear to hear our plea. The water is sweet indeed and it smells the hand of God, its creator, as it runs down parched throats of over two decades".  Was the writer mocking Khama or is he one of those people who want to be in the man's good books? For his part, the Bakgatla Kgosikgolo, Kgosi Kgafela seems to be determined to be somebody who could rival  Khama's meteoric rise.

Ever since he was inaugurated, Kgafela has courted controversy by introducing some tough morafe laws that some find despicable. While some traditionalist has been agitating for the revival of some aspects of the  Setswana culture, some people think that the Kgosikgolo has taken that too far with his indiscriminate whipping of alleged law-breakers. Kgafela has his own fair share of sycophants or malope who will go all the way to demonstrate their loyalty to him.  Writing for Mmegi, fellow Staff Writer, Ephraim Keoreng said:

"In a dramatic fashion, the chief, Kgosi Kgafela II arrived on horseback accompanied by his younger brothers, Bakgatle and Mmusi, as well as tribesmen.

The entourage was received by a standing ovation couched in ululations and whistles. You could see the power that Kgafela wields in the response he got from the crowd. Men and women braved the searing sun to give audience to their chief."

In the meeting, Keoreng reports that those in attendance heaped praises on the youthful Kgosi with some offering their services for him to push his initiatives. The detractors were simply overwhelmed gagged and many feared to express their reservations.

Keoreng further reports:
"Interestingly, after the meeting, some Bakgatla people were still mumbling. They were saying they prefer different  forums and not the Kgotla to address their complaints. A woman in her 30s told Mmegi, "It is not an easy feat to do. Do you think someone my age can stand in that meeting mostly attended by elderly people who are pro-supporting Kgafela's reforms and different with them? That would be risky. I would be marked as a wayward child and be persecuted."

It remains to be seen for how long the Khama and Kgafela magic would last as "dissidents" are beginning to express their reservations from different fronts as far as the men's leadership styles are concerned.