Bakgatla Bagammanaana (Part 11)

In our last episode the young Bangwaketse Kgosi Bathoen II had suffered a setback in October 1932 when he led a mophato into Moshupa in a vain attempt to impose his own overseer on the village.

Instead, his followers were surrounded, disarmed and returned to Kanye.

For the chairman of the subsequent colonial enquiry, Vivian “Maeba” Ellenberger, the issue at stake was thus the very survival of indirect rule. He argued that it was the paramount responsibility of the colonial state to uphold the authority of its chiefs over their subjects. After some hesitation, Rey agreed that “the troublesome wretch Bathoen” would indeed have to be supported. From his diary, dated March 27, 1933:

Editor's Comment
Borrowers need room to breathe

“Every time you borrow money, you are robbing from your future self”-Nathan.W.MorrisBank of Botswana’s latest supervision report shows loans placed on a watch list for potential repayment problems rising to P5.5 billion. These loans have not necessarily defaulted, which means there is still an opportunity to address the weaknesses. Meanwhile, loans already in arrears have reached P5.2 billion. For households, this pressure can mean...

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