Bakgatla commission in SA to meet Kgafela
Lerato Maleke | Thursday November 6, 2014 12:13
President Ian Khama established the Commission last month as part of efforts to resolve a three-year impasse with the tribe that saw the flight of the paramount chief in 2012 amidst a slew of criminal charges related to illegal floggings within the tribe.
Yesterday, several sources told Mmegi that members of the Commission, led by its chairman, Kgosi Malope Gaseitsiwe were in South Africa to meet with Kgafela as part of their olive branch mandate.
Other prominent Bakgatla chiefs and members of the royal family joined the Commission in South Africa, including Kgafela’s uncle Kgosi Segale Linchwe and the banned deputy chief Bana Sekai.
Also crossing the border was Moagi Molebatsi, the chairman of the Mangana regiment and the coordinator of the Bakgatla delegation, which recently met President Ian Khama.
“During a briefing last Friday evening, Bakgatla were informed that the Commission would travel to South Africa to meet Kgafela,” a tribal insider said.
Yesterday, Kgosi Malope confirmed that he was in South Africa, but declined to comment further saying he would be available for comment upon his return to Botswana today.
Other members of the delegation were equally unavailable for comment, with their phones ringing to voicemail.
The Commission’s latest efforts follow a hostile reception in Mochudi last month, where tribesmen openly railed against the President’s new initiative.
Last month tempers flared at a Kgotla meeting in the village when former Local Government and Rural Development minister, Peter Siele, unveiled the new Commission to Bakgatla. Tribesmen responded by demanding the reinstatement of their paramount chief and Sekai, questioning why government had not responded to a petition issued earlier containing the same demands.
At the Kgotla meeting, many speakers said the establishment of the Commission was a smokescreen to promote support for Khama’s party, in a constituency where the opposition was gaining ground.
The Umbrella for Democratic Change subsequently swept to victory in Mochudi West and East in the general elections.