Seretse o bua le Ian go tswa lebitleng
| Friday October 3, 2014 12:14
E rile ha ke eme ha pelo ga lona ha mo malobeng, e le gore ke le raya ke re ga ke sa thola ke na le keletso ya gore ke nne Kgosi ya ga Mmangwato, go ne ga nna karabo ya gore, “Ee wena o ka bo itatola ha o rata, mme ga o kake wa bua mafoko a o a buang jaanong jaana, o re ‘ke bo latolela le bana ba me’.”
Ke ne ka le dumela. Go ne ga tsaya lebaka ke ntse ke didimetse hela, mme ke ntse ke itse, le lona le ntse le itse gore ka lebaka lengwe puo e ya bogosi ja ga Mmangwato e ta simololola gape.
Mahoko a ke batang go a bua ke gore, kgosi ya ga Mmangwato, gase kgosi ya ga Ngwaketse, ga se kgosi ya Kgatleng, ga se kgosi ya Tlokweng kana ya goo-Tawana kana ya kae hela. Ke kgosi ya ga Mmangwato.
Mo lehatsheng le la rona le, re na le magosi, bothe ba a lekana. Kana ke raya gore, go seka ga nna le kakanyo ya gore, yo mong wa lona yo, ka gore ke kgosi ya ga Mmangwato, e bile gape ke ngwanake, gore ke kgosi ya Botswana. Ga gona epe Paramount Chief mo Botswana[a raya e e okametseng Batswana botlhe]. Go na le President. Ka gore gone go ka seke ga nna le epe kgosi e e ka dumelang gore kgosi e nngwe e nne tona mo go yone. Ka gore mongwe le mongwe wa dikgosi tsa ga rona, ke kgosi ka tshwanelo ya gagwe.
Yo, ha e kare jaaka a bewa bogosi, e be e le gore o senka hela gore a nne kgosi ya ga Mmangwato, e le gore o ta lofa, o ta nna sethogo, o ta athola ka lerato, o ta athola ka kilo, ga nke a dira tiro ya gagwe, a nna mo nageng hela re sa itse gore o kae, ka moso bagaetsho le ta utwa gotwe ke mo ntshitse.
Ka rialo ka re, ha re gopola gore bogosi ke go kokorala hela, joo ke bogosi jo eleng gore, le ha gotwe ke mongwe wa bone, joo kea bo itatola.
Ka matsalo o na le bo rrangwanagwe jalo jalo fela, ba tshwanetse gore ba bo ba ntse ba le gauhi nae e le gore ba bo ba ntse ba mo gakolola. Mme go heta bo rrangwaneagwe, o na le batho. Gompeino jaaka e le gore o a thomiwa jaana, o thomiwa ka keletso ya batho, ba ba sa mo itseng; ba ba mmonelang kgakala hela, mme e le gore ba eletsa gore e nne kgosi ya bone ka go bo ka tholego jaana ba mo senka.
Ga gona ope wa lona yo e leng gore ka moso, e be e le gore o lwela maemo nae, jaanong ha ke mo laya le ntheeditse lothe, gore Rra, ikanye batho, ga ke reye gore thowa borrangwanago mme ikanye batho. Bone ga ba lwe nao. Ha e le gore o ta palelwa, o ta palelwa e seng ka ntata ya bone. O ta palelwa e le gore ke wena; e le gore wa palelwa.
Mme ha e le ba ga eno, gompeino jaana ga gona yo o sa bateng maemo a gago - gongwe le nna ke a a senka - o ta ba itse, o ta itse bothe ba ga eno, le rona jaaka re gola jaana o ntse wa ithuta ka motho, o ntse o itse batho. O ta itse ba e leng gore ba mo boammaruring, o ta itse ba e leng gore golo gongwe ba bata go go kgatha hela gore ka moso ba bo ba go digetse.
Kana le ha gompeino go itumelwa jaana, kamoso, mongwe gongwe o ta bo a go kgala. Kana ke bua jalo ka gore ke selo se se diragetseng le mo go nna. Mme le gale ka ntata ya morahe, ke santse ke le teng ha ke leng teng jaana. Mme golo gongwe le wena ha e le gore o mo boaamaruring hela, o seka wa tshaba le ha e le sepe.
O seka wa tsietsa batho, o seka wa thukutha batho. E re ha o athola o bo o a thola ka ntata ya gore o lebile boammaruri hela. Kgakololo o reetse, obo oe thathobe ka gore tse dingwe di ta e le gore motho go itshenka ene; tse dingwe ke tsa boaamaruri e le gore motho o itse gore bothata bo ntse jaana mme e le gore o a go boloka.
Motho ha a go ganetsa, a re, “nnyaa Kgosi ga o dire sente ha o ka bo o dira jaana,” se mo thoe. Golo gongwe ke ene tsala ya gago go hetisa yoo ithelang a buchela jaana a wa ka lengole. Ga ke reye gore ba molato ka gore ha gongwe ba supa gore ba a go tota. Toto ga e molato, mme le rona re tshwanetse gore re tote maemo a rona ha re senka go totiwa.
Ke bua jalo ha pele ga yo ngwana waga rangwane ebong Leapeetswe, gore Rra, ke a ikapola, ke go neela letalo ke leo, le apese mogoloo.
Listen here: Seretse Khama
Seretse speaks to Ian from the grave
We publish here a transcript of Botswana’s founding president Seretse Khama’s words during the coronation of his son Ian Khama as Bamangwato Paramount Chief on May 8, 1979
Not long ago when I stood before you to tell you that I no longer desired to be Bangwato Paramount Chief, you said to me, “Well you may abdicate if you so wish, but you may not tell us that, ‘my children too also abdicate’.”
I accepted. I was quiet [about the issue] for sometime, although aware – and you too knew – that at some point this discussion about the Bangwato chieftainship would start again.
What I need to say to you is that the Bangwato paramount chief, is not chief of Bangwaketse, or Bakgatla; He is not paramount chief of Batlokwa or Batawana or any other people, he is paramount chief of Bangwato.
In this our country, we have paramount chiefs, [and] they are all equal. I say this so no one would think that since your master here is paramount chief of Bangwato and also my son, he is Paramount Chief of Botswana. There is no king in Botswana. There is only a President. That is so because no paramount chief would agree to be subject to another chief. For each one of our chiefs, is a chief by right.
Should this one, as he is being crowned, choose to be chief in name only, become truant, cruel, be biased in adjudication, adjudicate with hate; fail to do his work and always be absent without us knowing his whereabouts, I shall not hesitate to remove him.
Indeed I say it, if we think chieftainship is merely sitting on the throne - [and] while I am a Chief myself – I reject it in that form. In his line, he has uncles and so on and so forth, and they should always be close to and advise him.
Beside his uncles, he has the people. Today as he is crowned, it is through the will of the people - who do not [even] know him, and only see him from a distance, but desire that he should be their chief as custom demands.
None of you will be contesting his position, so when I instruct him in your hearing and say to him, “Mister trust the people - I am not saying you should hate your uncles - but trust the people. They are not fighting with you. Should you fail, it would not be because of them. You would fail from incompetence.
As for your kinsfolk, there isn’t any who does not desire your position – perhaps I also want it – [and] you shall know them, you shall know all your kinsfolk. As we grow we get to understand people more. You shall know those who are in pursuit of truth and those who simply want to please you but lead you into trouble.
Today there is jubilation [at your coronation] but tomorrow someone will be critical of you. I say this because it happened to me. However because of the tribe’s support I have survived the onslaught. So if you are after the truth, you too should not be afraid of anything.
Do not cheat people; do not rob people. Let your judgment be based on fact. Hear and analyse advice, as some give it for selfish reasons; while others do so in good faith to save you.
When someone opposes you saying “No, chief this is wrong, you need to do it this way,” do not hate the person. That person may be your true friend, even better than the one who grovels – I do not mean those [that grovel] are wrong as sometimes they are doing that to show you respect. There is nothing wrong with respect, but we also must respect our positions if we want to be respected.
I am saying this before my cousin [junior paternal uncle’s son] Leapeetswe, and I say, [to him] Sir I abdicate, and give to you the [leopard] skin. Drape your big brother [meaning nephew Ian] with it.