Serowe at the dawn of the Swaneng era (Part 2)

It is late 1962. A determined young white man confronts an ageing Kgosi Rasebolai Kgamane in Serowe’s tribal offices and asks for land one last time. “We are not beggars. We are not asking for land for ourselves. If you do not decide today, we will make plans to quit Bechuanaland at the end of this school term.”

Within hours the allocation is made. Patrick van Rensburg and his provisional school committee have 30 hectares in hand. Lenyeletse Seretse, a rapidly rising secretary to the tribal administration, axes the corners. The land stretches from Serowe’s eastern edge toward the Swaneng Hills. The school, and its name, are born.