They would on the day of the marathon invade the Kgotla with placards where they clashed with the police resulting in at least eight of them being arrested. They also claim some were brutalised. According to Balwela-Kgosi chairperson, their visit to the Kgotla was to clean it up as its rightful owner Ian Khama is on the verge of returning home. This they echoed through a press conference addressed by the royal uncles on July 1, being the birthday of the late Sir Seretse Khama. “We have had several occasions to consult and engage with Khama in Johannesburg whereupon we updated him on the state of affairs in Gammangwato, the effect of his absence on the tribe and its bogosi. “We gave him feedback regarding the overwhelming desire of Bagammangwato, especially the elderly, for him to return to Botswana as soon as possible, also expressed by senior citizens in other parts of the country who say they wish to see him before they pass on,” Kgosi Rasebolai Kgamane said. In this context, he said they have been consulting the tribe across Gammangwato to hear their views about the chieftainship issue, the closure of the Kgotla in Serowe, as well as the absence of Kgosikgolo from home.
Kgamane said in the past month they paid a courtesy call on him and gave him feedback that the tribe and many other Batswana want him to return home as soon as practicable. “We have no doubt that the nation as a whole is aware of several imperatives that have brought us here, where we now live in an environment of harassment, intimidation and brutalisation by the administration of President Mokgweetsi Masisi,” he said. He gave an example of what they termed aggression against Bagammangwato. Most significant, Kgamane said it's an offensive by the Masisi regime to try to nullify the birth right and status of Ian Khama as the recognised Kgosi of Gammangwato, in the process infringing upon his constitutional rights with respect to chieftainship and royal privileges. “Secondly it’s the continued onslaught on Gammangwato by armed police each time there is a royal call for Kgotla meetings for consultation about bogosi issues and other matters of tribal concern. This continues to be used by government to deny Bagammangwato tribal consultation and peaceful assembly,” he said.
