Migrants Disrupt Chadibe Village Peace

ISAAC PINIELO
Correspondent | Monday April 19, 2010 00:00

The recent migration of city dwellers into Chadibe, which is approximately 25km northwest of the City of Francistown, has got the 64-year-old headman troubled. He says he feels unsettled by the fact that the crime rate in the village is rising because of migration.

Being among the masses that have recently moved into the area, I decided to visit Chadibe Customary Court last Wednesday morning. It was clear that the village leaders are perturbed by the'invasion'. Chief Nyambe, who is also customary court president, had called a meeting with all the six headmen from the six wards to discuss village matters.  As I introduced myself, I was humbled at the warm welcome I received from the village leaders. Chief Nyambe introduced them to me as Mmoloki Kajata of Basimane ward, Seeletso Jeremani of Bombonda ward, Samson Maramane of Bototela ward, Dikatso Raditsebe of Jojo-Masomo ward, Amos Nkomo of Akuje ward and Winner Namakando of Dikgato ward.

 Speaking in an interview, Nyambe revealed his fear that Chadibe, which was once a peaceful village, is gradually turning chaotic due to the influx of people who have been allocated plots in the area.

Nyambe is a worried man despite the fact that the influx of people into the village could be a blessing in disguise.

'Yes, I know very well that if many people come to settle here there would be developments, but what one has to bear in mind is that developments can also lead to a rise in the crime wave,' says Nyambe.

His fear is understandable even though no serious crimes have been reported in the village so far. The only crimes that have occurred in the village are minor ones, such as petty thefts, affray, common nuisance, and use of insulting language, which often happen at drinking places.

'We had been able to control these crimes because our population was manageable, but the situation has changed,' he says.

Since the migration of people into the area, Nyambe says they are starting to receive reports of crimes such as burglary and cellphone thefts and he fears that soon there will be more serious crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery.

He indicates that the original inhabitants of the Chadibe are the Barotsi (Lozi) who came to Botswana from Zambia around 1922. By then there was only a handful of the Barotsi in the area. He says they used to live in peace. 'Crime was a foreign thing to us,' he adds.

Those days are gone. Today the area has become an attraction to people of different ethnic backgrounds like the Bakalanga, Bangwato, Basarwa, Bazezuru, Bandebele, and Batawana. This mixture of tribes has kept Nyambe perturbed. He face turns sullen when he talks about his village's fading lustre.

The one thing that has not gone down well with him is that traditional leaders are no longer recognised in this country. 'The government does not consult us in the allocation of land to the people. In the past, chiefs were the ones who allocated land to the people. By so doing they gave plots to people whom they knew to be inhabitants of their areas, not anyone else,' he says with a sense of hopelessness. One of the headmen, Mmoloki Kajata of Basimane ward, reveals that he is a member of the neighbourhood crime fight cluster. He says that they have been carrying out patrols during the day and have arrested many aliens, mostly Zimbabwean illegal immigrants.

He indicates that most of these illegals are the ones who commit crime in the village. 'They are mostly attracted by the fact that there are many people in the village, so they know they can always find something to steal,' he says.

Kajata also expresses concern at some new settlers who are in the habit of hiring illegal immigrants and later refusing to pay them. He says some leave the houses without anyone to look after them, which later develop into safe havens for the immigrants.

As we are busy chatting with the chiefs, a young man enters and utters his greetings. He reveals that he has spotted some illegal immigrants working in a nearby yard and that he needed the chief's permission to mobilise the other young men to go and arrest them. 'Re kopa go ya go ba tshwara Matebele a mabedi a re a boneng kwa. (We request your permission to go and arrest two illegal immigrants we saw there),' he says animatedly.  There is a bit of silence before Nyambe responds. 'You must wait for the police officer who must accompany you to those people. You know that you cannot arrest them without a police officer being present.'  The young man is also advised not to alert the illegal immigrants. He obediently leaves the office with his head down.

As he leaves, the chief turns to me and says, 'Gakere wa utlwa. Batswakwa ba tletse le motse o wa rona. (You can hear for yourself; immigrants are all over this village.)'

As the chiefs talk, one thing becomes clear: They are fed up with the invasion of people in their village and are desperately trying to secure what is left of their once safe haven. Although this sounds like a tough nut to crack, the leaders believe that with concerted efforts, they will be able to breathe fresh air again.

As I shake hands with the chiefs, I feel really welcome in this beautiful area where there is constant bleating of the goats and the mooing of cows.