The removal of Mathiba's town from Tsau to Maun

| Friday May 8, 2009 00:00

A suspected pneumonia outbreak in 1912 shook the Batawana capital at Tsau. The outbreak was so severe that in the month of August alone it claimed over 40 lives. And by September a decision was reached to relocate. Theories ran wide and wild about the cause of the deaths, the pneumonia theory being only advanced at a later stage.

Whatever the disease was, authorities believed its effects were exacerbated by the unhygienic condition of the capital. Tsao lying, as she did, on the edge of the already receding Thaoge River, was said to be in a most undesirable state.  The following quotation gives the picture,'Tsau... is on the extreme edge and end of the swamps which are stagnant for most of the year, and in the summer season when drying up and the swamp vegetation decays and mud is exposed, unhealthy smells and atmosphere are present and such swamp with its vegetation becomes the breeding ground for mosquitoes. In addition to this the veldt for miles around consists of close thorn bush scrub which obstructs the breeze and is also insanitary'.

However, a more ominous thought lingered in the minds of many in the village. Earlier that very year the Batawana nation had split into two at the climax of a protracted succession dispute between Mathiba I and his uncle Sekgoma Letsholathebe. Sekgoma had been arrested by the colonial authorities in 1906 and kept at a Gaborone jail until 1912. At the beginning of 1912 he was released and banished to Kavimba in the Chobe district. Following that, his supporters broke off from the main body at Tsau and followed him at Kavimba. Naturally, this conflict and the eventual break up resulted in much acrimony and distrust between the two groups. Thus when in July/August 1912 people began to die in Tsau many immediately ascribed it to witchcraft. A sense of foreboding gripped them, firmly believing that Sekgoma's followers (or Ba-Sekgoma as they were called) were at the bottom of it. Writing in January 1913 the Resident Magistrate stated, 'being very superstitious they firmly believe that the [Ba-Sekgoma] have bewitched or poisoned the ground here. Even Mathiba who was educated at Lovedale is half inclined to believe this'.

Whatever the real cause of the deaths, the matter was considered so grave that everybody, including the colonial authorities, agreed to the relocation even though Tsau was a very new capital. The capital had only settled at Tsau in 1897 after relocating from Nakalatswee, some 10 km to the southwest. In fact Kgosi Mathiba I argued that his old rival Sekgoma Letsholathebe was wrong to settle the capital at Tsau in the first place, on the grounds that he (Sekgoma) had failed to take into consideration the environmental conditions of the area. Basically he accused Sekgoma of failing to conduct an environmental impact assessment. He further charged that Sekgoma had not even consulted the Government Camp, then at Machabeng, where he would have received appropriate advice as to the suitability of the area for human habitation.

While there was a consensus that the capital had to move, there certainly was no consensus as to the preferred location of the new capital. At the kgotla meeting, in September 1912, that decided the relocation heated arguments were raised for and against different locations. Some in the group preferred to relocate the capital to a place called Mashun, to the east of Tsau, deeper into the delta; others campaigned for the old capital at Toteng; some Nokaneng, also a former capital; while others still preferred Dobe, a cattle post 10 km to the south of Tsau.  In the end the meeting tasked Kgosi Mathiba with finding the right spot for the new capital. Accordingly, the Kgosi took off with a team of 20 horsemen to survey the land for a suitable site for the new capital. And by end of October he had picked a spot close to the confluence of 'the Thamalakane and Botletle' rivers. The new site was heartily accepted by both the tribe and the government as most suitable for the new capital, some its advantages being listed as below;

.Perennially running large river with fairly high and well cut banks. Open water current of one to one and a half miles an hour. No water vegetation such as reeds, papyrus or sedge.

.Greater freedom from mosquitoes.

.Cool and pleasant breezes blowing down the river during the hot weather.

.Good veldt on the banks, good trees and absence of thorn scrub and undergrowth.

.A water highway for canoes and boats from the village to Makalamabedi and even to Rakops when in good flood.

.Adjacent to mopane veldt and therefore good building timber close at hand.

. Good and clean drinking water.

With the new site identified and agreed upon by all no time was wasted in moving there. The Ngamiland Resident Magistrate writing from Tsau on July 24, 1913 under the subject, 'The Removal of Mathiba's Town from Tsau to Maun' happily reported that 'a large number of Mathiba's people have left and are leaving for Maun. The wealthier ones with wagons are hurrying thither; the poorer ones who lack transport are going by stages, putting up temporary huts en route'.

With the relocation of the capital, arrangements had to be made for the building of a new Government Camp (offices and residencies for the Resident Magistrate, District Commissioner and Police). This the government went into with much enthusiasm. The authorities felt so fortunate at the recent arrival at Tsau of a former Warrant Officer of the Royal Engineers, a Mr. Carolan, who had become a partner in one of the local businesses. He was quickly described as 'the only man in Ngamiland capable of carrying out the work properly'. Carolan was hailed as much better than the 'Boers and other incompetents' who were accused amongst others, of being 'unable to produce any other style of building barring their one stereotyped Ghanzi pattern'. And his quote was much lower than those given by his competitors. Accordingly, the Secretary of State, Lewis Harcourt in London approved a budget 'not exceeding 800', for the construction of the new Government Camp at Maun. Mr. Carolan was awarded the contract to commence in June 1913 and complete by April 1914.

However, by January 1914 the project had already run into problems. It was way behind schedule. One of the reasons given for the delay was failure to collect enough thatching grass in the previous season, and as it was now the raining season no grass could be collected until after winter.

The other reason was that for the better part of 1913 the threat of a German attack from South West Africa hanged over Ngamiland. This compelled the government to retain most of the troops at Tsau instead of sending them to help in the construction of the new camp at Maun. Fortunately the German threat soon died off and everybody agreed it was now time to give the project a push. But by May 1915 the project still dragged on and the costs had escalated to over 873.

And relations between the government and the contractor broke down irreparably. Carolan was reported to have 'grossly underestimated his working expenses' and of having been 'too much sanguine about' his ability to deliver.  Part of the problem was ascribed to his financial difficulties, being 'insolvent twenty times over' at the time! The government eventually solved the problem by relieving Carolan of the project. It then parcelled up the project to different sub contractors who completed the job under government supervision.