Seretse Khama's 1958 vision

In hindsight, it is clear that by the time of his return to Botswana in 1956 his perspective had been broadened by his years of struggle in exile. The young, somewhat impulsive Mongwato Prince who had been denied his throne returned to his people with a budding vision for the nation he would come to lead and its role in the region.

Revered at birth among his morafe, in the decade leading up to independence he further established himself as a national figure. A milestone in this transformation occurred in April 1958, when for the first time he attended and rose to speak at a meeting of the Joint Advisory Council, a body then dominated by a handful of dikgosi and white settlers.