The Orphan And The Ants � Part 1 The Sons Of Matsieng

There is an old Setswana phrase: “BaKwena ba ga se bolaya kgosi”, that is “the BaKwena of one who kills the king”. Over the decades these words have been said with pride, shame and resignation, as a praise and a curse, about those whose forefathers once committed such an audacious deed.  The saying is rooted in the c. 1821 regicide of Kgosi Motswasele II near Shokwane. It was an event that proved to be both terminal and seminal for the BaKwena bagaKgabo of Botswana in that it shattered their morafe or “tribal” community, which, in turn, led to its reconstruction as a new kingdom under Motswasele’s son Sechele.

As the head of the morafe, Kgosi Motswasele II had been its supreme ruler, judge and military commander. He was the personification of its laws and customs, who also served as the ultimate trustee of communal land and wealth.