Singwezi Turning Point

On November 1, 1893, Bangwato mephato under Kgosi Khama III and his brother Raditladi arrived at the Singwezi River near the village of Mangwe, located just across the border in today’s Zimbabwe.

There they rendezvoused with Lt. Colonel Goold-Adams combined force of the British South Africa Company’s [BSACO] “Raaf’s Rangers” and Bechuanaland Border Police [BBP].

Khama had led his men, who consisted of cavalry and infantry armed with Matini-Henry rifles, up from Ramokgwebane upon hearing that an Amandebele force of some 8,000 under Nkosi Lobengula’s senior Induna Gambo Sithole was moving south to challenge the “Southern” (Bechuanaland) column. With the arrival of Khama’s troops, the combined force now consisted of about 450 whites of various nationalities and between 1,700 and 2,000 Bangwato.

Editor's Comment
BDP primaries leave a lot to be desired

The BDP as a party known to have ample resources has always held its primaries well in time, but this time around that was not the case. The first leg of the primaries was held last weekend, with the final leg being billed for the coming weekend. This time around, the BDP failed to shine in its primary elections. The elections were chaotic; most if not all polling stations didn't open at the specified time of 6am. Loyal BDP members braved the...

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