Nswazi invites more tribesmen to leave Zim

CHAKALISA DUBE
Staff Writer | Monday September 3, 2012 00:00

 

He expressed his desire to see Bakalanga-ba-ka-Nswazwi who are still in Jetjeni, Zimbabwe returning to Botswana in an interview with The Monitor recently.

However, the 'Zimbabweans' have not expressed any wish to return to their ancestral home. The village chief said when dozens of families of Ba-ka-Nswazwi relocated to the country in December 2006, other households remained behind as they were not eager to return. He feels that they too have to consider relocating to change their lives for the better as they live in inhuman and degrading circumstances compared to their counterparts here.'I was not impressed with their living conditions during my visit there last year. They live in abject poverty without food and most basic needs.

Their situation is so disheartening even the water they drink is not clean. It mostly comes from streams. It is also not easy to access school there as fees are expensive. The idea of trying to convince them to come back has been on my mind for some time though we have not approached them yet,' he said.

He further said that in the near future, he plans to have a meeting with other leaders from Marapong, Gulubane and other surrounding villages to thoroughly discuss the issue. Some of the residents who relocated to Zimbabwe lived in the localities. 'That is when we can approach them with a possibility of convincing them to return home. They are our people and it does not sit well with us when they suffer. We will have to explain to them the merits of coming back home though it will be hard because most of them are still reluctant to come back,' he stated. Should some of them agree to relocate to Botswana, Nswazwi said they will seek assistance from government to make it possible for them to return to their ancestral country.

He, however, acknowledged that it will be a difficult process as money and other logistics will be required. The Bakalanga-ba-ka-Nswazwi who were from Nswazwi and aforementioned neighbouring villages, followed their leader, John Madawo Nswazwi to Jetjeni after he was exiled to Mafikeng in 1947 by the colonial government following a conflict with Bangwato regent, Tshekedi Khama. The controversial Tshekedi Khama was the great-uncle of President Ian Khama.

Nswazwi died in 1960. He was buried in Jetjeni and his remains were later exhumed and transferred to Nswazwi village where they were interred in 2002.