General Sechele is Botswana�s number one forgotten hero

Richard Moleofe | Friday September 2, 2016 14:55

As a writer with extensive military experience and knowledge, I am often astounded by the way Gen Sechele conducted himself as King of Bakwena and Commander-in-Chief of his vast army. None of the European writers has ever ascribed the title of general to this noble man, but through the study of the Kweneng history, I do with fear and shuddering direct the term to this mortal.

Beginning with the days of his youth, it is clear that this man was destined to the pedestal of heroism. Though his father was assassinated before his eyes as tradition tells us, that did not breed fear into his heart. After years in self imposed exile, Sechele returned to his tribe and created a nation. He was never consumed by fear and trepidation when the time was ripe for him to return and assume his role of leadership regardless of the risks that went with his actions. He was no coward.

From leading a singular tribe of Bakwena, he embarked on a nation building exercise. This nation building included his tribe’s cooperation with Bahurutshe of Mangope, Bakgatla of Mosielele, Balete of Mokgosi as well as Batlokwa of Gaborone.

Gen Sechele’s method of nation building was different from that of other so called superior tribes. Other tribes used the method of assimilation whereas the Bakwena left these other peoples to enjoy unlimited autonomy.

I do refer to this king as general because of his attributes that he displayed especially when his people were being threatened. A thorough study on this general will reveal a lot in terms of his leadership skills. He was a shrewed war planner and his successes in battle say a lot about his calibre.

General Sechele is often seen as a nation builder. It actually goes beyond the simple notion of nation building where you bring together a few tribes to create a nation. Of course his consolidation of tribes was primarily based on his theory of collective security. That was the number one factor.

I will always agree with those who have suggested that he was an intelligent man. If you look at the current political alliances around the world and particularly the European Union (EU), you will come to realise that they are following on General Sechele’s format.

The creation of the EU is not about assimilation; rather it is about independent autonomy. Each country in  this arrangement continues to enjoy the warmth of being in the collective while their individual identity is not threatened. However, the EU is further cemented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation which was created to take care of their security needs. EU members are often unsettled by those members of the security arrangement such as Turkey that are out of the economic zone parameters of the organisation.

A thorough search in the British archives should reveal that some Europeans must have studied Sechele’s methods of leadership and refined them to suit the European setting.

In this year’s celebrations, Botswana will as usual recognise the military heroes of both the First and Second World Wars. Botswana took active part in the First World War and one of those soldiers was my grandfather, Madisakwane Salmon Madisakwane. Even though he was Sechele’s subject, he will get recognition and not his superior.

Botswana’s contribution in the war efforts of 1914-18 is often marked by the sinking of the Mendy. This is critical because a considerable number of Batswana lost their lives in that accident. In actual fact it was not an accident. The German submarine torpedoed the ship that was carrying Batswana, Basotho and South Africans.

I grew up with the believe that this incident happened in 1939 at the commencement of the Second World War. It was after I met the curator of the Naval Museum in Simons Town near Cape Town that my views were changed in a moment. Outside the headquarters of the South African Navy lies a bronze plague that was set to honour the Mendy heroes.

In Gaborone, at parliament grounds lie monuments that were erected to honour all our heroes who died in war. If you carefully read through the list of the Second World War, you will come to notice that there were so many of Sechele’s subjects who died in that war.

It is an honourable thing to honour them, but we are lost if we do not recognise their general. They may have lived and died in different eras, but they are all heroes of our past.

I trust that Batswana as a nation will one day come to their senses and put General Sechele in his rightful place in the chapters of our military history. I am hopeful of this because it took many years for some of us to get BDF command convinced that the Lesoma Disaster deserved a monument.

 Like General Gant of the US Army, General Sechele deserves a national monument. They lived in the same era and both fought the wars of independence.

Batswana generally don’t seem to care about their heroes. Every country I have travelled to has a significant monument to honour their fallen heroes. Our lack of enthusiasm in this area as a nation will cost us dearly. This is why we have forgotten about Sechele, the great general. We can hardly remember the Mendy and those who died in it. Neither do we care about General Sechele’s canon that is now lying in an almost derelict state in Mafikeng.

There is so much more that this country is losing each day. We will never come to the knowledge of what was contained in the files and documents that will soon be discarded by the Mafikeng Museum. It will soon go into the dustbin of history.