Who is Kgosi Oletile Makgasane?

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Friday September 24, 2010 00:00

This most certainly ruffled many feathers and according to reports, Sebele retorted by saying, 'Kgari has no right to say that he is appointing Makgasane. If anything, he should have consulted and considered those senior to Oletile. These are for example the Sebele and the Kgosidintsi family members'.

But who is this Makgasane? Oletile Makgasane is a descendant of a junior royal, Motswakhumo Kgosidintsi who peacefully broke away from the main section of the Bakwena morafe after he had asked Kgosi Sebele I of the Bakwena in Molepolole to allow him and his bosom friend Paledi to establish a cattle-post at Lentswe-la-di-tau (the hill of lions).

The 49-year-old married father of four, who has become a subject in local news stories, is the fourth-born child of Morotsi and Amolemo Motswakhumo.

He did part of his primary education at Lentsweletau Primary School before proceeding to Camp Primary School in Gaborone. From Camp, he went to Kgari Sechele Secondary School where he did his secondary education.

After secondary he then went to Polytechnic in Gaborone where he did a course in welding and fabricating from 1985 to 1987.

He then lectured mechanical engineering at Selebi-Phikwe and Palapye Technical College respectively.

In 1999, the Kgosi went to study for his higher national diploma at the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough in the United Kingdom (UK) from 1999 till 2001.

He then came back to Botswana and was engaged as a senior lecturer at the Auto Trades Technical College (ATTC) before transferring to Palapye Technical College where he became the head of department (HOD) in the mechanical engineering department.

'In 2007 my uncle Slendy Kgosidintsi died and my younger brother Morulaganyi was appointed acting Senior Chief Representative until April, 2008 when I resigned from my job and took over the position,' Makgasane told Mmegi in an interview adding that he was formally installed by the Bakwena in November last year.

Mmegi took time to visit the newly installed Makgasane early this year and he told this paper that he was determined to restore law and order in the village by flogging culprits.

'My people are okay with flogging and they say both male and female culprits should be flogged on the back as that is the most effective method,' he said back then adding that in the past this was a common practice and nobody was against it.

The Kgosi also told Mmegi back then that he had agreed with his morafe that people should stop playing music after 7pm and that if anyone was caught playing loud music beyond the stipulated time, his radio would be confiscated by the mophato and the culprit would be flogged by his Kgosana.

He also expressed his determination to revive some aspects of the Bakwena culture including bogwera and bojale (initiation schools), mephato (age-regiments) and dikgafela (thanksgiving ceremonies) adding that he hoped to send some youth to attend the next bogwera and bojale in the neighbouring Kgatleng.

The formidable Kgosi then revealed that although he was working in consultation with the main Bakwena Kgotla in Molepolole, if they were slow to respond to his request, he was prepared to continue with his initiatives alone.

As the Senior Chief Representative, Makgasane was in charge of overseeing  a number of villages namely Lentsweletau, Kgope, Dikgatlhong, Rrammnkhung, Mahetlwe, Ditshukudu, Hatsalatladi, Medie and Kweneng.

After his elevation to the position of deputy paramount chief, Mmegi spoke to him.

According to Makgasane, in June this year, Kgosi Kgari approached and informed him that the findings of a recent commission on the state of the Bakwena bogosi were out and that one of their recommendations was that he should drop Sebele and that he intended to appoint him instead.

'I did not concur with Kgosi Kgari about the appointment because I have dreams about my father's village that I want to see fulfilled,' he told Mmegi.

Although he turned down the offer, Kgosi Kgari Sechele was adamant and he (Kgari) travelled to Lentsweletau where he 'approached my elders to tell them about his intention to appoint me his deputy'.

He asserted that although at first he resisted taking up the appointment, he finally relented after a lengthy discussion because Kgosi Kgari had told him that he was the only one whom he saw fit to appoint as his deputy.

Makgasane further said that he has little time for those who are not happy with his appointment.'I am not going to be the Kgosikgolo of the Bakwena but his deputy. Kgari had the right to appoint whomsoever he wished and that person happened to be me,' he retorted adding that one of his primary missions is to try and unit the Bakwena who have in the past been involved in many royal disputes .