Radisele chieftaincy conclusion in sight

Bonte Seepi | Friday October 27, 2017 13:40

This comes after Kgosi Mokhutshwane Sekgoma from Bangwato Tribal Authority addressed the residents about the issue and the Bogosi Act, which has long been a source of confusion. Since their customary court president, Kgosi Kakanyo Botoka  left in May 2016, and the assistant customary court president, Kgosi Christian Ntebele retired in September 2016, Radisele has been deriving services from Palapye.

In his address at the village recently, Sekgoma explained that the law allows the chief and those close to him to select a name of someone they feel is suitable.

However, he said, chieftainship is not like politics, as the election of a Kgosi is not done along the same lines as that of politicians. Sekgoma further explained that as the Bangwato leadership, they are aware of all the mistakes that had been made regarding Radisele chieftaincy and the meetings held over the issue and its outcomes. “We have also seen your concerns from the letters that you wrote to us, but my plea for now is to forget about all what happened in the past and focus on the way forward.

I understand how the community of Radisele is suffering from the current situation of not having a leader,” Sekgoma said. Kgosi Sekgoma allowed the community to comment and ask questions but none did, something read to say the villagers understood the message.

Sekgoma then explained that the position of the assistant chief has been frozen and asked the villagers to come up with a name (s) of the people whom they feel are suitable to lead them. However, Sekgoma ruled out Dikgosana from contesting stating that they head wards, and were therefore no eligible to replace Botoka. Three names were placed forward, including that of Shatani Mmereki whom some villagers have been rejecting for so long because of the poor health. Mmereki, Ramodela ward headman, was once selected by Kgosi Masego Olebile of Palapye to fill Botoka’s shoes.

The other two contenders are Phillemon Motswasele and Gomolemo Baoliki. After the nomination, Kgosi Sekgoma ruled out voting, saying the Bangwato Tribal leadership will choose the village Kgosi from the three as per the dictates of the Bogosi Act. He noted that since the no complaints during the meeting, he expected no issues to be raised later and that the issue should be settled soon.

Radisele councillor Kgosiemang Monare pleaded with the tribal leadership to rush the process. “It has been over a year since Kgosi Botoka left and the villagers have been struggling for services.

It is very difficult to run some errands in the village without a Kgosi. It's a pity because some of the people we are talking about are elderly people and some did not find help just because they did not have money for transport,” Monare said.He assured Kgosi Sekgoma that the community would accept any name.