Khama overcomes the language struggle
Ryder Gabathuse | Friday March 4, 2016 13:19
FRANCISTOWN: President Ian Khama might be struggling with the well-documented dwindling fortunes of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), but he will vacate office in 2018 a happy man. When Khama retired from the military where he was commander of the Botswana Defence Force, to join politics in 1998, his Setswana portrayed him as a man struggling with his father’s tongue. He struggled to communicate in the vernacular making him the country’s first ever Motswana vice president to not speak his home language. Unfortunately, Khama was brought into office by his predecessor and former president Festus Mogae to secure his presidency, at a time when the party was being torn apart by factionalism.
The late South African political consultant and professor, Lawrence Schlemmer had recommended Khama as a man capable of bringing the BDP together.
Mogae did not waste time. He brought his man on board without considering his struggle with language being a barrier to achieving bigger things for the party. Whenever Khama addressed political rallies in his formative years in active politics, he would attract masses with his theatrics and comedic way of presenting himself in his corrupt Setswana. It was at one of the rallies in Tonota when he chose to use a parable on birds, a swallow in particular. He was trying to depict the type of politicians that were in the BDP at the time. He said there were politicians that behaved like swallows, as they were seasonal and only showed up when there was something to benefit them and then deserted the masses. Instead of people carefully listening to this parable of birds, they rather broke into uncontrollable laughter at the way he pronounced a bird in Setswana. He had said: “nyonywane”, which in proper Setswana is “nonyane”.
Ordinarily, there is nothing laughable about this pronunciation as that is how children speak.
But given the gusto with which Khama pronounced it and the repetition that he probably innocently did it, the rally could not afford to let him off the hook and laughed endlessly.
Unbeknownst to Khama the rally derived its entertainment from the way he spoke Setswana, he went on anyway.
It was also the ‘innocence’ that killed people. Khama resembled none other than Rowan Sebastian Atkins, the English actor, comedian and screenwriter, also known as Mr Bean in the sitcoms. Apparently, some of the people only followed the Khama rallies to get free entertainment from his Setswana.
On the other hand, Khama’s struggle with Setswana became fodder for the opposition, who accused him of shunning his home language.
But, Khama seemingly cared less about comments relating to his struggle with Setswana and took advantage of any opportunity to perfect his language. He would leave masses in incessant stitches of laughter with his broken Setswana and to him that was part of the learning process.
His handlers were also in trouble, as their man would pronounce words anyhow, raising fears that he would one day offend others.
Popular for lightening up the party rallies, Khama left his listeners in tenterhooks. He had seemingly inherited this from his predecessor, Mogae, a humour that he performed in his own version and perfected. When addressing the people, Khama struggled to make a distinction between human beings and animals. It was common with him not to distingish between the two.
“Yo ne ya reng (Roughly translated: ‘What is it saying?’) In fact, ‘it’ applies to animals whilst to human beings it will either be s/he.
After every rally or any public event he addressed, raving reviews would be directed at his pronunciation of Setswana than the content of his message. At the age of 63, Khama is still a bachelor. A few years ago Khama cancelled his engagement to dentist and philanthropist Dr Nomsa Mbere at a time Bangwato tribesmen were readying themselves to welcome a daughter-in law.
Around 2010, at a rally in Mahalapy, Khama left party diehards in stitches and not only with his broken Setswana but this time around with the type of woman he wanted in his life.
He tasked the party’s Women’s Wing chairperson at the time, Angelinah Sengalo, to assist him in finding such a woman.
His reasoning was that he was too busy with the business of the state to find his choice in the midst of all his duties. However, he was quick to specify what he expected the Women’s Wing to find for him.“Tsamayang le e go batla mosadi (Go and look for a wife),” Khama had said, insisting that his choice must be “tall, slim and good looking”.
He had said in his corrupt Setswana: “Ga ke batla yo o tshwanang le yo. Maphakela o fitlhela kgoro e thibilwe ke motho a jammile. Di sofa di senyegile le di shock absorber tsa dikoloi tsa puso di sule.” This description was directed at Botlogile Tshireletso, now Assistant Local Government Minister.
Roughly translated, Khama meant that he does not want someone like Tshireletso as she may fail to pass through the door and given her heavy weight she may break sofas and even break the state vehicles’ shock absorbers.
After all his rough time in politics, Khama’s Setswana has improved tremendously to the extent that he now knows how to address animals and human beings. His interactions with the people, old and young, around the bonfires countrywide at the kgotlas and other fora have played a crucial role in sharpening his Setswana.
He is able to play around with the language freely although there are still pronunciation challenges here and there.