JENDA: A JOURNAL OF CULTURE AND AFRICAN WOMEN STUDIES ISSN: 1530-5686 Issue 7 (2005)

Yonah Hisbon Matemba

Abstract

The paper shows that in Botswana traditional attitudes are changing allowing women to challenge old age patriarchal customs previously barring them from being appointed chiefs in their own right. The paper traces incidents in the historical literature to reveal occasions when royal women were allowed to rule but only as regents and in many cases as influential female royals. This is followed by a discussion of the recent appointment of women who have for the first time been installed as chiefs in their own right. Next, an examination of the kind of public issues the female chiefs have addressed since their appointment and the controversy generated by some of their pronouncements and views is made. The argument in this paper is that the recent appointment of women as chiefs should be understood within the wider context of the tremendous and noteworthy progress the country is making in promoting the status of women in social, economic and political life.

Key Words: Women, Chieftainship, Change, Botswana

Introduction

In 1950 the late Kgosi (chief) Seboko I, King of the BaLete morafe (ethnic group) in Botswana is said to have disappointedly remarked at the birth of his daughter: “Well, it’s a woman. What can I do? It’s my child” (Mmegi, 14 December 2004). Little did he know that 53 years later, this girl, now known as Kgosigadi (chieftainess) Mosadi Seboko, would capture the attention of the world’s press and make BaLete proud as their first female paramount chief. It is this novel event that on 3 September 2003 attracted presidents, priests, diplomats, community leaders and thousands of people from all over Botswana to Ramotswa, the capital of the 33,000 strong BaLete. These people had come to witness what in every sense was a rare event when for the first time in the country’s history, a woman was installed paramount chief in a ceremony complete with the bedecking of a leopard skin around her shoulders – the ultimate symbol of authority of a crowned chief (IRINnews, 29 October 2003).

As significant as this event was, in Botswana there have been other occasions when women have either been influential princesses to the reigning male chiefs or have been regents in the absence of or during the minor of a male heir. Apart from Kgosigadi Seboko, there has been one other equally significant recent case of an appointed female chief. In fact, the claim being made and widely reported in newspapers around the world that Seboko is the first installed woman chief of a morafe in Botswana is erroneous. Kgosigadi Rebecca Banika is actually the first woman to be installed as chief in 2000 but her story has largely been marginalized perhaps because she is chief of a minority group, an issue we will return to later. This essay will outline historical incidents where women, because of the traditional limitations of the time ruled only as regents or influential princesses/queen mothers to the reigning male chief. It agrees with the assertion that although Botswana is a country of conscious change, it is still proud of its traditions (Cassidy, 2001). It argues in this paper that such attitude to change has been the major factor women have been appointed and supported as chiefs in their own right in a country where patriarchal traditions are still common.

Patriarchy, Bogosi and Change

Botswana, formerly a British protectorate (1885-1966) is a country in southern Africa of 1.64 million people (July 2005 estimate). Mainly because of the prudent management of its resources particularly diamond the country is widely held as a model of success in Africa. Under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) founded by Sir Seretse Khama in the 1960s, Botswana has had the longest multi-party democracy in Africa. This landlocked mostly desert country has become an oasis of political stability and economic growth in a continent largely besieged by poverty, inefficiency, corruption and political intrigue and malaise (Good, 1992; Acemoglu et al, 2001). In fact, since independence, the country has had the fastest growth in per capita income in the world. The 2000 Poverty Datum Line (PDL) was between US$25 and US$30, figures that correspond very closely to the international benchmark definition of poverty as having to survive on less than USD 1 per day. According to the US State Department (2005), in 2003/2004 Botswana earned the highest sovereign credit rating in Africa and its stockpiled foreign exchange reserves were over $5.3 billion.

On the matter of chieftainship (bogosi), Botswana and indeed like elsewhere in Africa chiefs, monarchs and regents have almost exclusively been male. This old age tradition meant that daughters regardless of their position (including being the first born of a hereditary chief) in the line of succession could not become chiefs. Schapera and Comaroff (1991) have noted that “in tribal law women (in Botswana) are treated as perpetual minors, being subject for life to the authority of male guardians; they are also excluded from political assemblies, and… all political offices are normally confined to men” (1991, 31). This means that if the first house for succession did not have male heirs, bogosi would pass on to other royal families with male children because according to Tswana custom, “. . . a female child is not recognised to inherit her father even though she be the only child” (Botswana National Archives, Schapera Papers PP1/5/10).

Therefore, in Tswana tradition married women are regarded more as the first-born daughters of their husbands rather than equal partners in the marriage. Although I should mention that towards the end of 2004 parliament passed a law abolishing marital powers of husbands to ensure that spouses have equal rights in the marriage. Before this amendment of the Marriage Act, husbands could make major decisions such as selling cattle and houses without consulting their wives (Botswana Daily News, 13 January 2005). Traditionally, the position of women was such that they were not allowed to attend kgotla meetings unless they were invited to give evidence during the settlement of disputes (Mmeg/The Reporter, 9 May 2003). The term kgotla, which has several meaning and is widely used in this paper, first refers to the all-powerful community institution where decisions are made. In Tswana culture, before important decisions are made an assembly or kgotla is called and people deliberate in a kind of parliamentary debate until a consensus is reached. The kgotla is also the place where rituals, trials, sentences, punishment are carried out. In another meaning of the term, the kgotla refers to the physical area (i.e. the courtyard) at the centre of a Tswana village where the chief sits in court. In recent times the kgotla has evolved into part of the consultative machinery through which government policies are explained to the populace and through which the community can in turn pronounce on issues (Mmegi, 1 April 2005).

It is perhaps fair to say that today in Botswana traditional norms and attitudes are fast changing. Because bogosi is an institution that is made up of the very people accepting these changes, it is inevitable that while the core elements of traditional culture are preserved, attitudes about the leadership of bogosi are becoming more liberal. The changing attitudes about tradition should also be seen in light of how modernity has impacted generally on the status of women. Kraft (2003) has noted that “as African women take on new roles in government, business and other realms of modern life, their position in traditional society is also evolving and expanding into a domain long the stronghold of men” (2003,1-2). It can also be observed that chieftaincy is an institution that has adapted to change. In his examination on chieftaincy and democracy in Cameroon and Botswana Nyamnjoh (2002) provides a useful analysis on the adaptable nature of chieftaincy. He convincingly argues that chieftaincy as a dynamic institution constantly re-invents itself “to accommodate and be accommodated by new exigencies.” He further asserts that this institution has “proved phenomenal in its ability to seek conviviality between competing and often conflicting influences” (2002, 14). Because culture and tradition are dynamic and not static, it has been possible for people to accept women as full-fledged chiefs as the case in Botswana shows. In much of Africa similar changes are also evident as more and more women are being allowed to take the reigns of traditional authority. The table below summarizes some recent examples (Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership, 2005).

Survey of Female Traditional Chiefs in Africa (2000-2005)

Traces of Royal Women in Power and Positions of Influence

It is mainly the historical antecedents from the “major” as opposed to “minor” merafe (ethnic groups) that sources are available about royal women who were either regents or powerful royals. The issue of belonging to “major” or “minor” morafe could perhaps explain why Kgosigadi Seboko, chief of BaLete (a major group) vis-à-vis Kgosigadi Banika, chief of a “minor” group has received so much attention in spite of the fact Kgosigadi Banika is actually the first installed female chief and first female chief to enter the House of Chiefs (Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi). The House of Chiefs is a kind of lower house of parliament made up of merafe chiefs. It functions in an advisory capacity to parliament and government on matters pertaining to Botswana tradition and culture. It has no legislative powers and no veto. Currently, it is composed of eight ex-officio members (chiefs from the eight principal merafe), four elected sub-chiefs (from the “minor” merafe) and three specially elected members as follows.

To understand the historical origins of this classification and how the Tswana who are made up of several independent groups became the dominant ethnic group in the country, it is essential that we outline key elements of the early history of Botswana. Tswana ethnic dominance can be traced to the eight “major” groups mostly of the Tswana that ruled most of the area of present Botswana in the 19th century. The main Tswana (Central Sotho) dynasties of BaHurutshe, BaKwena and BaKgatla were derived from the Phofu dynasty, which broke up in its western Transvaal home in South Africa in the 1500-1600 period and came to settle in different parts of the present-day Botswana. The break-ups possibly in different stages and at different times over this period was a response to drought, need for more grazing land or as oral sources indicate infighting among the brothers leading to others breaking away to become independent chiefs (Tlou & Campbell, 1997).

During colonial rule these merafe state identities were classified as “reserves” where the paramount chiefs were granted authority to rule under the system of indirect rule (Matemba, 2000). Under the principal Tswana groups lived other “minor” merafe mostly non-Tswana whose chiefs operated under the direct rule of the paramount chief of the “major” merafe in exchange for protection, land, water and grazing rights. It has been shown that some of the “minor” groups such as Basarwa lived in appalling-slave like conditions under the paramount groups. People in Botswana acknowledge membership of one of the following eight “tribal” state identities. These “major” merafe were and remains: BaTawana in the northwest, BaNgwato (largest and historically most powerful) in east-central areas, BaKwena and BaNgwaketse, BaKgatla and BaTlokwa, BaLete and BaRolong in the southeast. Of the “major” merafe BaLete are not of the Tswana stock although they too trace their origins to South Africa. Among the so-called “minor” merafe are BaKhalagari in southeast under several “major” merafe as noted; BaTswapong, BaBirwa and BaKalanga in east-central under BaNgwato; Mmanaana BaKgatla in southeast and spread between BaKwena and BaNgwaketse hegemonies; Wayeyi/Bayeyi, Mbukushu, Mbanderu, Herero, BaSubiya and scattered pockets of Khoesan (Basarwa) found in the south- western districts (Tlou & Campbell, 1997; Parsons, 1999).

Recently, sections 77, 78 and 79 of the Botswana constitution which endorses traditional and colonial classification of people into “major” and “minor” merafe has come under sharp focus and people aggrieved by this classification see the sections as discriminatory. So sensitive and emotive has been the discussion about this issue that the president set up the Balopi Commission to look into, among other things, whether indeed these sections were discriminatory. People mostly from the principal groups tended to express views justifying the classification and generally opposed the creation of such commission, a move that was seen by many as attempts to protect historical privilege and status enshrined in the constitution. Not surprisingly, people traditionally classified as belonging to “minor” merafe have been adamant that these sections discriminated against them citing, among other things, that such groups had no direct representation in the House of Chief. In fact, Wayeyi who are classified as a subgroup under BaTawana have rallied together under the umbrella of the Kamanakao Association for the Promotion of Wayeyi identify (language and culture) went to court in 2001 arguing that these sections were discriminatory and should be removed (Botswana Daily News, 24 July 2001). In the case of Kamanakao v. the Attorney General the High Court had ruled that section 2 of the Chieftainship Act was discriminatory insofar as it failed to afford some people equal treatment and equal protection in accordance with the Constitution, and should therefore be amended (UN International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, 2002).

Possibly because of the sensitive nature of the issue, when the commission produced the eagerly anticipated report in 2000, it evaded to say whether these sections were discriminatory or not. Rather, the commission decide that although it was empowered to pronounce whether or not the three sections were discriminatory, it did not think it necessary or wise to do so, adding that the commission was satisfied that pronouncing on this question would serve no useful purpose. The 2004 Constitutional (Amendment) Bill has repeated the recommendation of the Balopi Commission and has merely offered explanation of what the sections 77-79 mean and not necessarily on whether the government find these sections discriminatory. In other words, the bill has failed to ensure equal recognition and treatment of all ethnic groups and still classifies tribal groupings on “minor” and “major” basis (Ditswanelo, 2005; Mmegi 21 April 2005).

The earliest evidence on record we have of a female regent was in BaNgwato. This happened after Kgosi Kgari was killed in a battle against the BaKalanga-BaNyayi at Matopos in the early 1830s. By the time of his death, Kgari had three wives: Mmapolao his first wife had no children. His second wife Bobjwale had among other children borne Khama II (a son) and Mokgokong (a daughter). Kgari’s third wife Dibeelane was the mother of Sekgoma I. Khama II succeeded his father but shortly died in c.1834, a situation that created a political vacuum. To the disappointment of Sekgoma I, his supporters and traditionalists, Bobjwale was appointed regent. Sekgoma I broke away with a strong following, refusing to recognize Bobjwale. Such patriarchal resistance to women being appointment to bogosi was not entirely new among the Tswana. By some accounts the BaKwena are said to have split from the BaHurutshe in ancient times during the regency of the female Mohurutshe. Likewise, the BaKgatla ba ga Mmanaana (now found at Thamaga and Moshupa) are said to have broken away from the BaKgatla ba ga Kgafela (now found at Mochudi) during the regency of a female. Soon, BaNgwato were plunged into civil conflict. It is said that Bobjwale struck first, but her force was defeated. Most of the BaNgwato then defected to Sekgoma I, forcing Bobjwale to flee with her children and a small following to the BaKwena state where Sechele welcomed them. Subsequently, Sechele married Bobjwale’s daughter, Mokgokong (Schapera, 1988; Botswana Daily News, 18 October 2002). Other sources indicate that later, Bobjwale with her supports moved to the Chobe-Hwange region where it is said that she ruled the scattered pockets of subordinate groups under BaNgwato rule until 1842 (Schapera, 1988; Guide to Women in Leadership, 2005).

Among the BaTawana, evidence shows that Motshabi ruled as regent between 1927 and 1930 after the death her brother, Sekgoma II. In another case, between 1947 and 1956 Moremi III’s widow, Queen Mother Dulano Seeno Elizabeth Pulane reigned as regent (acting paramount chief) after his death for her son Letsholathebe II (1912-1981) (Schapera, 1970). Among BaKwena evidence shows that Queen Mother Gagomakwe was the most influential royal during times of intrigue and political instability in the chiefdom between 1911 and 1931. It is shown that she was the secret hand of stability during the reign of her husband Kgosi Sechele II (1875-1911-18). She was also the pillar of stability during the reign (1931 to 1962) of her son, Kgosi Kgari I who came to the throne after his brother, Kgosi Sebele II, was ousted from the throne by the colonial administration. Sebele II was exiled to Ghazi in 1931 where he later died eight years later (Parsons & Crowder, 1994).

Perhaps the well-known reigns of female regents in Botswana can be found in BaNgwaketse. After the untimely death of Kgosi Seepapitso I (1884-1916) through assassination by the hand of his own brother Moepitso, two royal women: the queen mother Mohamagodi Gaogangwe and her daughter, Ntebogang reigned at various times during the minor of Bathoen II, Seepapitso’s son. Briefly, Seepapitso I, his older sister, Ntebogang (1882-1975) and younger brother Moepitso (c.1887-1917) were the children of Kgosi Bathoen I. Their mother, Mohamagodi Gaogangwe - the one-eyed queen - was the double matriarch of BaNgwaketse and BaKgatla ba ga Mmanaana royal houses. Gaogangwe was the daughter of the BaKwena chief, Sechele I by his wife Mokgokong whom we have already noted. Gaogangwe first married Pilane, the BaKgatla chief and bore him two children, Baitirile and a girl, Maserame. Gagoangwe’s son, Baitirile, succeeded his father Pilane as chief in Moshupa in 1889 and ruled until his early death in 1901 (Mmegi/The Reporter, 14-20 November 1997; Matemba, 1999).

While still married to Pilane, Gaogangwe eloped with Bathoen I and later married him. She bore Bathoen I three children: Seepapitso, Ntebogang and Moepitso. Gaogangwe took over power in 1924 to save the BaNgwaketse bogosi from disintegration and chaos caused by incompetence and early deaths of two of Bathoen II’s regents. Bathoen II (1908-1969) was only eight years old when his father was assassinated. Kgosimotse, who was Bathoen II’s regent ruled from 1916 until his death in 1918. Another regent, Malope ruled only for a year before his death in 1919. Accusations of incompetence and financial mismanagement of the tribal treasury ended the reign of the third regent, Tshosa Sebego (r.1919-23). At an embarrassing kgotla meeting, Tshosa Sebego and Peter Kgasa (the kgotla secretary) were publicly denounced by Gaogangwe and removed from office. It did not matter to her that Kgasa was the famed merafe secretary who had worked under Seepapitso I and had kept the office running after the death of the chief. After the sacking of the regent, Gaogangwe assumed power, as Bathoen II’s regent. Sadly, she died of cancer in 1924 but not before nominating her daughter, Ntebogang as regent and successor (Matemba, 2002).

Ntebogang has been described as one of the few female members of an elite group of progressive-minded Batswana royals. It is said that she feared no one and was determined to keep BaNgwaketse bogosi intact until its rightful heir was appointed. As a woman, she is considered to be one of the most powerful regents. Her reign was by many standards a successful one. She brought stability to the bogosi after years of political intrigue and incompetence of the other regents made worse by the death of her mother, Kgosigadi Gaogangwe. Ntebogang installed discipline, respect for tradition and during her reign many projects such as the building of schools, dams and medical establishments were carried out successfully. As a convert to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and to the benefit of the people, she allowed the church to establish a hospital (the first in the country) and a number of clinics in the chiefdom. Outside her chiefdom she was influential in other ways too. She was appointed as the first woman to sit in the Native Advisory Council and was according to records, one of its outspoken members (F. Morton & Ramsay, 1987). Ntebogang ruled until 1928 when she handed over the throne to her nephew, Bathoen II.

Among BaKgatla ba ga Kgafela of Mochudi, Queen Mother Seingwaeng (1883-1967) was perhaps the influential but the most maltreated of all queen mothers in recorded history of the Kgafela. Her son, Molefi, was the youthful and troublesome chief of the Kgafela. Notwithstanding his carelessness, disregard of the bogosi, crossing paths with the colonial administration and his frivolous behaviour (drunkedness and womanising) Seingwaeng stood by her son. And yet in spite of her undivided support and loyalty to him, Molefi treated her poorly. Worse, he hated her newfound religion – the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) of the South African Joseph Lekganyane – for its strict lifestyle code and condemnation of ‘sinful’ living. In an unsuccessful effort to stop its proliferation and influence in his chiefdom, he had its members including the queen mother publicly flogged at the kgotla and then driven off from the chiefdom. But as Fred Morton (1998) has noted, despite all this bad treatment, Seingwaeng was the most significant female royal in Kgafela history over a long period and her influence and impact on the Kgafela bososi surfaces repeatedly in both oral and archival sources as a key participant at the centre of major events between 1910s and the 1940s.

Breaking the Mould: Appointment and Installation of Female Chiefs, 2000-2004

Until the cases described earlier, there are no known instances of women becoming chief in their own right in Botswana’s history. This section outlines the circumstances and brief history of the appointment of three female chiefs who exemplify what changes have taken place in the institution of bogosi in twentieth century Botswana.

Merafe matters in Botswana are under the Ministry of Local Government and it is this ministry which also makes sure that chiefs are paid; and by African standards the paramount chiefs are handsomely remunerated at about US$2000 a month. In theory, the appointment of dikgosi is a merafe matter and names of appointees are sent to the minister for “approval” and in most cases all appointees a re approved. The procedure of sending names to the government for approval is actually a carryover of the colonial system. In colonial times there had been cases where appointees were not approved by government as the case of Sebele II who was appointed by the morafe but was not approved by the British. When Sebele II decided to stay put on the throne regardless, the government as we have noted, forcibly removed him (Parsons and Crowder, 1994). It is curious to note that in the recent cases under discussion in this section Dr. Margaret Nasha - one of the longest serving female cabinet ministers - was the Minister of Local Government when these female chiefs were appointed. Cynics have observed that women are being appointed as chiefs today because Botswana chiefs no longer have any real power. These say that elected government officials have usurped much of the role of the chiefs (Botswana Daily News, 24 December 2004). It would appear that regardless of what the cynics say, one of the most important developments on bogosi in the history of Botswana is the appointment of women as chiefs in their own right.

Kgosigadi Rebecca Banika is the first woman to be appointed chief in her own right. She was elected as sub-chief representative of several “minor” merafe in the Chobe sub district (an area of about 20000 people) including Basarwa (the collective name for San/Bushmen peoples), Banajwa, Batebele, Barotsi and Basubiya. Kgosigadi Banika is among one of the four elected sub-chiefs in the Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi appointed to represent groups, which historically has had no direct representation in that house. The eight ex-officio members (chiefs of principal merafe) of the house have the mandate to appoint the four sub-chiefs. Interestingly, Kgosigadi Banika has also broken another traditional mould by being the first ethnic Mosarwa and a woman to enter Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi (Botswana Daily News, 15 September 2003). Of all ethnic groups in Botswana, perhaps Basarwa have been and continues to be the most marginalized. Historically, they have been driven out of their ancestral land when the more powerful and organised Tswana groups arrived. Today, they can be found scattered in the dry and unforgiving large terrain of the Kalahari Desert where they have surprisingly adapted to their environment. Currently, Basarwa are at the centre of a protracted controversy between the government and Survival International over plans by government to forcibly remove Basarwa from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (commonly referred to CKGR) in spite of the fact most Basarwa would like to continue to live a prehistoric lifestyle (i.e. traditional hunting and nomadism). The government’s argument is that Basarwa should be relocated so that they can be ‘developed’ alongside the rest of the country while critics allege that Basarwa are being removed from the CKGR to make way for more diamond mining (Chebane, 2003; National Geographic News, 16 April 2003; Survival International News, 5 September 2005).

In November 2000 throngs of people from the Chobe sub-district and rest of the country among them Kgosi Mothibe Linchwe (BaKgatla ba ga Kgafela regent) and the BaTawana deputy chief, Kgosi Mathiba Moremi gathered at the Pandamatenga kgotla to witness the inauguration of Kgosigadi Rebecca Banika. The ceremony involved the bedecking of a lion’s skin around her shoulders as the symbol of authority of a crowned chief (Botswana Daily News, 24 November 2000). Later in Gaborone, she was welcomed into the Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi becoming the first woman to be crowned chief in her own right.

Perhaps the much-celebrated development in the elevation of women as chiefs was the appointment and installation of Kgosigadi Mosadi Seboko of the BaLete. Mosadi Seboko the first-born child in a family of seven sisters and a brother, were the children of Kgosi of Seboko I who died early in 1966. When she was born she was given an English name - Muriel and a Setwana name - ‘Mosadi’ meaning ‘woman’. For 30 years (1966-1996) her paternal uncle ruled as regent for her brother not for her in spite of the fact that she is the first-born child of the family. In 1996, her brother assumed leadership of the morafe and became Kgosi Seboko II. In the meantime, Mosadi Seboko who must have realised that bogosi would never be hers, concentrated on her education, got married, had four children and worked for various firms including Barclays Bank Botswana where she was promoted to middle management. After retiring from the bank, she worked for an office supply firm as a floor manager. Her brother, Kgosi Seboko II, had poor health and generally his reign was characterised by long absences from his duties as chief.

In 2000 when Kgosi Seboko II passed away, paternal royal uncles appointed her male cousin as regent, a decision Mosadi Seboko, supported by her mother and sisters, challenged. She was then reluctantly accepted as regent. The following year, Mosadi Seboko went a step further and demanded to be appointed as the rightful chief. The royal uncles argued that she could not be a hereditary chief because custom dictated that only males could rule. When news of this made its way to the general public women’s groups came to her side advising her that sometimes “women must grasp power, not wait for it to be handed to them” (Mmegi, 14 December 2004). At a historic kgotla meeting in Ramotswa in December 2001, attended by hundreds of BaLete and the royal family Mosadi Seboko argued in her support that excluding her from the throne because she was a woman amounted to discrimination. She pointed out that she should be appointed not on the basis of tradition but on Botswana’s constitution, which she explained guarantees freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender, religion and so on - to the applause of her supporters. Therefore, in spite of initial protest by traditionalists, the morafe accepted her as the first female paramount chief. Dr. Margaret Nasha, the minister of local government perhaps very eagerly, accepted her appointment without hesitation. In fact, by 28 January 2002, Kgosigadi Seboko had already taken up her official duties in the Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi where she was immediately appointed as leader of the house. Reflecting on this appointment, Dr. Nasha thanked BaLete “for being progressive and breaking tradition by allowing a woman to take the reigns of traditional power” (Southern African Documentation and Cooperation Centre, 2002). It should be noted that Mosadi Seboko’s cousin, Lesego Motsumi was at the time the Minister of Health. It is perhaps not too presumptuous to observe that Seboko’s appointment received political support.

Understandably, her coronation on 3 September 2003 attracted many people and the event was widely reported in the national and international media. Being aware of this, Kgosigadi Seboko decided to use English in her inaugural speech, a thing that angered many traditionalists who accused her of being “too Westernised” (Mmegi/The Reporter, 12 September 2003). The leopard skin was draped on her by her uncles Kgosi Tshukudu Mokgosi (chief of BaLete in South Africa) and Lucas Manyane Mangope (former President of the puppet apartheid state of Bophuthatswana in South Africa) (The Botswana Gazette, 3 September 2003). There was also something of a novelty when it came to the gifts she was given. Instead of being given cattle (the prized possession of a Tswana man), she was presented a four-wheel drive Toyota Pick Up and other items a woman would find useful such as a washing machine, vacuum cleaner and a computer (Matemba, 2003).

The other case involves the appointment as regent of Kgosigadi Kealetile Moremi of BaTawana. Following the unceremonious resignation of the youthful BaTawana paramount Chief, Kgosi Tawana II sometime in August 2003, BaTawana bogosi was plunged into chaos. Kgosi Tawana II is an educated, ambitious and outspoken chief who has had a strained relationship with the political elite. He relinquished his position as chief so that he could enter politics as a BDP candidate for Maun West in spite of repeated efforts by the government including the president (Festus Mogae) and his deputy (Seretse Khama Ian Khama also a hereditary paramount chief of BaNgwato) asking him to reconsider his decision. Unfortunately for Tawana, the BDP rejected his application to stand as the party’s candidate. Tawana refused to return to his throne and has since gone into private business (Botswana Daily News, 4 September 2003).

In the meanwhile, Tawana’s uncle, Kgosi Mathiba Moremi, acted as regent as the royal family and morafe tried to find Tawana’s replacement. After a careful search and in spite of opposition by a section of BaTawana, Tawana’s elder sister, Princess Kealetile Moremi, was accepted as regent for Kgosi Tawana II or his children. What appears to have caused ill feeling among those opposing the appointment of Kealetile Moremi was news that the Minister of Local government (Margaret Nasha) had already accepted the nomination from the royal family even before the morafe had been consulted (World News Network, 31 January 2005). Others also opposed her nomination simply because she is a woman fearing that her appointment would spell doom for the BaTawana bogosi because she would pass the lineage on to her children. Some residents wanted Tawana’s uncle, Mathiba Moremi, to be appointed paramount chief to which he refused (Botswana Daily News, 30 January 2004). In May 2004 Kgosigadi Kealetile Moremi was welcomed in the House of Chiefs at a ceremony attended by her mother (Princess Derby Moremi) and other royals amidst ululation and dancing (Botswana Daily News, 12 May 2003). Therefore, unlike Kgosigadi Banika and Kgosigadi Seboko, Kgosigadi Kealatile Moremi is only holding the throne for the next rightful heir.

Female Chiefs and Public Issues

Another focus of this essay are the kinds of issues the female chiefs have found of interest. The campaign against the exploitation of Basarwa has been high on Kgosigadi Banika’s agenda. As we noted earlier, Banika is the first Mosarwa in the influential Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi and she has used her position to highlight the plight of Basarwa. She has expressed concern over the treatment of Basawra by Botswana’s farmers who employ them as herdsmen for little or no pay. She has also gone on record saying that the government and human rights activists are not addressing the exploitation of Basarwa by their employers in the tourism industry. During an international conference on Research for Khoe and San Development, Banika lamented the fact that Basarwa are used as hunting guides. She illustrated that during hunting expeditions Basarwa are used in such a way that if a lion attacked, it would start with a Mosarwa and yet the rewards to the indigenous hunting guides are insignificant compared to the owners of the company. She also mentioned other exploitation of Basarwa such as making them act in films such as The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980 and 1990) and observed that no Mosarwa has benefited financially from such films in spite of the fact that the films are watched throughout the world and have made a fortune for the producers. She has also accused foreign tourists who exploit Basarwa by taking naked pictures of them, sometimes for postcards and other illustrations (Botswana Daily News, 15 September 2003).

Kgosigadi Banika has also called upon Basarwa to avoid such exploitation. She has told them to refuse dancing semi-naked for tourists in dances such as kuru. She has said that Basarwa should change some of the negative elements of their culture noting that other ethnic groups around the world have evolved from wearing animal skins to present-day clothing and that Basarwa should do the same. She has told Basarwa that one way to improve their situation is through education. She has lambasted Basarwa for not being keen in the education their children. She has told Basarwa to charge their lives by sending their children to school, registering lands, participating in decision making and knowing their rights (ibid).

Kgosigadi Banika has taken a swipe at Botswana’s Constitution especially sections 77-79 which as we have noted, classifies ethnic groups into “major” and “minor” groups. She has said that because of this historical anomaly a mindset has been created, which tends to disregard the efforts and triumphs of the so-called “minor” groups. A case in point is that both the media and national leaders have erroneously reported that Kgosigadi Seboko is the first woman to be member of the Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi perhaps because she is chief of the “major” morafe notwithstanding the fact she (Banika) is the pioneer in this development (ibid). Turning to other issues, Kgosigadi Banika has urged other traditional leaders to address co-habitation. According to Mookodi (2000) co-habitation is a social ill that is causing untold suffering especially in cases where the male partner in the arrangement dies and his relations repossess the property of the deceased leaving the woman and her children destitute. Kgosigadi Banika has also taken issue particularly with women who abandon their homes to stay with other men. Addressing a workshop in Kasane in 2003 she warned that when the breadwinner in the relationship dies relatives usually claim all property leaving the woman and children destitute (Botswana Daily News, 4 April 2003).

One issue, which has caused some controversy, is an incident when Kgosigadi Banika sent away women from the kgotla for wearing pants during a meeting at the Pandamatenga kgotla in August 2004. The women concerned were offended by this action made worse (in their view) by the fact that the chief is also a woman. Women activists took offence at the chief’s action arguing that they see no reason women turning up in pants at a kgotla should be sent away. They found the chief’s actions offensive to women by the action of another woman and declared that “things have changed and we cannot go back” (Mmegi/The Reporter, 19 September 2004). In fact, the editorial in Mmegi (18 August 2004) declared that outdated practices need to be disregarded pointing out the fact that Kgosigadi Banika was appointed chief because some ‘meaningless’ practices (i.e. denying women leadership roles) were discarded. The editorial noted that Banika is a modern woman who enjoys the conveniences of modern life such as mobile phone, official town house and motorised transport and yet at the same time she wants to hold back the rest of society in implementing ‘outdated’ customs. The editorial went further to observe that female members of parliament wear pants and ended by saying that the country should not be held hostage to practices that do not add any value to the present way of life.

In her defence, widely published in the local media, Kgosigadi Banika stated that preventing women wearing pants at the kgotla was not in anyway oppressive because as chief, one of her roles is to preserve Tswana culture. She explained that every Motswana knows that tradition forbids women wearing pants at the kgotla the same way men are required to refrain from wearing hats and put on of coats and jackets at the kgotla. She assured that if men violated the dress code she would also chase them from the kgotla. The President of the Customary Court, Edwin Bothate defended the chief by noting that the requirement of dress codes at the kgotla is in line with customary law historically observed by all morafe (Mmegi/The Reporter 18/19 August 2004). An interesting support of the chief’s action was made by a woman, Gorato Lebopo and featured in Mmegi/The Reporter (13 October 2004). When asked what she thought about the issue she said that “if we want the so-called equality (i.e. wearing pants as men) then bogadi (bride wealth) must be stopped; we must propose men for marriage and forget all things we call Setswana culture.”

At the 82^nd seating of the Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi in June 2000 Kgosigadi Rebecca Banika tabled a motion that female offenders should also be lashed in customary courts like men. Since colonial times, Botswana has had two types of court systems: the civil courts under the Roman-Dutch common law and the customary/traditional courts under chiefs (Solo, 2005). One of the functions of a Tswana chief is the dispensation of justice although today chiefs are restricted to hearing only minor cases such as petty theft, domestic squabbles and other anti-social offences. Punishment for these petty offences has been and continues to be public flogging, which is in the form of several cuts with a cane across the back (Schapera and Comaroff, 1991) administered by mapodisi a kgotla (customary court police). Corporal punishment is also extended to foreigners who come under customary courts. In recent years a diplomatic row has erupted between Botswana and Zimbabwe because Batswana chiefs administer corporal punishment to the increasing numbers of Zimbabwean illegal immigrants many who are arrested for petty theft and other misdemeanours (News.24.com, South Africa 10 August 2004). We should not forget the classic case of flogging by Kgosi Tshekedi Khama (the BamaNgwato regent) of a white man, Phineas Macintosh, for a misdemeanour (slapping an African man over a girl in Serowe). The colonial government reacted by suspending Tshekedi Khama as chief for overstepping his judicial authority in thrashing a white man in a traditional court. However, within weeks of the suspension he was reinstated when the well meaning British public and members of parliament condemned the suspension. This story is well captured in Michael Crowder, The Flogging of Phinehas McIntosh: a tale of colonial folly and injustice - Bechuanaland, 1933, New Haven: Yale University Press 1988.

Women offenders have for a long time been exempted from public floggings. The main reason for the exemption seems to have been that it became socially embarrassing to have women and mothers publicly lined up for beating. While males were stripped publicly of clothing to expose a bare back for the lashes (others would say bare buttocks), for the sake of decency the same could not be applied on females. Traditionally, female offenders would be taken away from public glare into the kraal (cattle pen at the kgotla) where two holes would be made into the sand to rest the breasts so as to avoid the weight of the body under the heavy beating crushing them on the solid ground. Therefore for the sake of preserving female decency many chiefs stopped beating women altogether and since independence women offenders have been fined or given jail terms as an alternative to flogging.

A motion to amend the Penal Code so that women can be given corporal punishment was subsequently tabled in parliament. The house was divided between the supporters of the status quo and those wanting a revision of the Penal Code. Supporters of the motion expressed the view that equality between sexes should be reflected in the way justice was dispensed. Others said that the law was soft on women and that they saw nothing wrong with the practice of canning women when they commit a crime. Those in support also added that excluding women from corporal punishment was unfair because women are separated from their families especially children when they are sent to jail. On the other side of the debate, those against the motion argued that because of the nature of their bodies beating females would be demeaning to women. They also pointed out that such an amendment would be in conflict with international conventions on the protection and promotion of women’s rights to which Botswana is a signatory (Botswana Daily News, 13 & 20 January 2005).

At first, it would appear that those wanting to maintain the status quo had gained an upper hand on the issue when the government initially refused to change to the Penal Code. The public however appeared surprised by the decision and wanted the law changed so that justice was equally applied to all – man or woman. The government had no choice but to reintroduce to parliament a bill to amend the Penal Code. In April 2005, the Customary Court Amendment Bill was approved by parliament allowing chiefs to sentence both men and women up to the age of 50 years to corporal punishment ranging from 4 to 6 strokes. In defending the bill, legislators have claimed that public flogging is a deterrent and that the bill is an alternative to imprisonment because currently the prison population has overshot to over 160 per cent. Human Rights Organisations such as Ditswanelo have condemned the law pointing out that the government has acted contrary to its own development blueprint, Vision 2016 which calls for a compassionate, just and caring nation” (Mmegi, 8 April 2005; Karnam 2005).

Kgosigadi Seboko has supported corporal punishment but on another social issue. The BaLete chief has called for use of corporal punishment to address the anti-social behaviour of Botswana’s youth. The chief has on record berated Child Line, a Human Rights Organisation formed in 1991 and which works against the abuse and exploitation of children, for campaigning against this type of punishment. The chief has been adamant that corporal punishment is the answer to today’s youth problems such as petty theft, drugs, alcohol abuse, gangsterism and parental abuse (Botswana Daily News, 1 August 2003). Domestic abuse and violence against women is another area Kgosigadi Seboko has addressed. In Botswana the so-called ‘passion’ murders have become disturbingly endemic. This is a practice when jilted and despised lovers particularly boyfriends or husbands shoot or knife their partners in a fit of range and then commit suicide. In 2004 alone, 100 of such cases were reported (NewsfromAfrica.org & Mmegi, 10 June 2005). The new BaLete chief, herself a woman, has condemned the abuse and violence against women. Since her appointment she has spoken publicly in defence of women’s rights. She has publicly said that she divorced her husband in 1978 because he was abusive and beat her. She has called for women to stand up for their rights (NEWS.Scotsman.com, 12 December 2004; Mmegi 14 December 2004).

On another issue, Seboko has sought to resurrect traditional initiation ceremonies of bogwera (for males) and bojale (for females). Traditionally, bogwera and bojale were ceremonies held for young people going through their puberty stage. Boys and girls were confined to initiation camps for a couple of weeks where they were taught such issues as sexual activity, sexual taboos and socio-cultural rules. In early times, both boys and girls were circumcised at these ceremonies and for girls this involved clitoridotomy. In passing through these rites, the initiates were ritually reborn as adult members of society (Ramsay, B. Moron & Mgadla, 1996). Seboko has argued that traditional initiation ceremonies are not primitive, wasteful and divisive as some people think. She has also said that bojale could be modified to conform to modern times. She noted that certain aspects of tradition like circumcision are risky and should be left to medical practitioners. Seboko also noted that BaLete had continued the practice until the 1980s when it died out but noted that parents who still value the practice now have to send their children to their cousins, the BaLete of Moshana village in South Africa where the practice is alive and well (Mmegi, 12-18 September 2003).

Conclusion

From the discussion in this paper, it can be seen that Botswana stands tall among countries particularly in Africa, which are making good progress in promoting the status of women in all levels of society. Although a lot a still needs to be done such as curbing domestic violence and stopping the so called ‘passion’ murders, the recent appointments of female chiefs illustrate to what extent patriarchal attitudes have changed. In fact, the 2003 UNDP Human Development Report shows that Botswana is fairing better in the area of women participation and inclusion. Therefore, the appointment of female chiefs should be understood within the context of the tremendous social-economic changes taking place in the country and how gender imbalance is being addressed at all levels of society. Currently, the government has embarked upon a systematic process of reviewing laws that entrenched inequalities and reinforced the oppression of women. A number of laws, which negatively impacted on the status of women, have been amended. Perhaps the most notable recent example is the abolition of marital power Act of 2004. This Act, among other things, abolishes the common law rule in terms of which the husband acquires power over the person and property of his wife. Interestingly, female chiefs have tended to use old cultural practices and customs made by the very patriarchal traditions to address current issues. The reintroduction of the law to thrash women in customary courts, the chasing away of women from the kgotla for wearing pants and the suggestion to resurrect initiation ceremonies are some issues now associated with the female chiefs. Finally, it should be celebrated that for the first time in the history of Botswana, bogosi is no longer the preserve of men as a new breed of traditional leaders called ‘women’ are in power and in control.

Work Cited

Archival Materials

Botswana National Archives (BNA) Schapera Papers PP1/5/10

Newspapers

Botswana Daily News 1^st August 2003
Botswana Daily News 13^th & 20^th January 2005
Botswana Daily News 4^th April 2003
Botswana Daily News 12^th May 2003
Botswana Daily News 15^th September 2003
Botswana Daily News 18^th October 2002
Botswana Daily News 24^th December 2004
Botswana Daily News 24^th July 2001
Botswana Daily News 24^th November 2000
Botswana Daily News 30^th January 2004
Botswana Daily News 4^th September 2003

Mmegi 10^th June 2005
Mmegi 12-18^th September 2003
Mmegi14^th December 2004
Mmegi 21^st April 2005
Mmegi / The Reporter 12^th September 2003
Mmegi / The Reporter 13^th October 2004
Mmegi / The Reporter 14-20^th November 1997
Mmegi / The Reporter 18/19 August 2004
Mmegi / The Reporter 19 September 2004
Mmegi / The Reporter 9^th May 2003

National Geographic News 16^th April 2003
News.24.com, South Africa 10^th August 2004
NEWS.Scotsman.com 12^th December 2004
NewsfromAfrica.org 10^th June 2005-10-11
Survival International News 5^th September 2005
The Botswana Gazette 3^rd September 2003
The World News Network 31^st January 2005

Documents and Other Materials

“Botswana: Mosadi Seboko Approved Paramount Chief of the BaLete” (2002) Southern Africa Documentation and Cooperation Centre.

“Bill Fails to Ensure Equal Recognition and Treatment of All Ethnic Groups,” (2005) Ditshwanelo – The Centre for Human Rights, 18^th April 2005 also published in Mmegi, 21^st April.

Cassidy, Lin (2001) “Improving Women’s Participation in CBNRM in Botswana,” The World Conservation Union, 6.

Ditshwanelo (2005) The Centre for Human Rights (Botswana), 18^th April.

IRINnews.org (2003) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, October, 1.

Kraft, D. (2003) “The Changing Roles of Africa’s Women,” IOL, p.1-2 (www.iol.co.za).

Matemba, Y.H. (1999) “Resistance to Domination in BaNgwaketse Reserve: The Case of Chief Gobuamang Mosielele of BaKgatla ba ga Mmanaana, 1889-1940,” MA thesis, University of Botswana, 42.

Southern Africa Documentation and Cooperation Centre, 2002

UN (2002) International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, Summary Record of the 1545^th meeting: Botswana.

UNDP (2003) Human Development Report - Millennium Development Goals – A Compact among Nations to End Human Poverty.

US State Department (2005) Bureau of African Affairs

US State Department (2005) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

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Articles

Nyamnjoh, F. (2002) “Might and Right: Chieftaincy and Democracy in Cameron and Botswana,” (Department of Sociology, University of Botswana), Paper Presented for CODESRIA’s 10^th General Assembly on ‘Africa in the New Millennium,’ Kampala Uganda, 14.

Chebanne, A. (2003) “The Dangers of Ethnic Relocation: The Case of the CKGR Khoe and San Communities,” Botswana Notes and Records, volume 35, 89-97.

Good, K. (1992) “Interpreting the Exceptionality of Botswana,” Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 30, no. 1, 69-95.

Karnam, M. (2005) “Legalising Corporal Punishment in Botswana?” Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative Newsletter, Volume 12, number 2, New Delhi, Summer, 1.

Matemba, Y.H. (2000) “The BaKgatla ba ga Mmanaana Split, 1934-36: Impact of British Sub-Imperial rule in Botswana,” Botswana Notes and Records, volume 32, 39-40.

Matemba, Y.H. (2002) “The Assassination of Kgosi Seepapitso Gaseitsiwe of the BaNgwaketse, 1916-17,” Botswana Notes and Records, volume 34, 25-36.

Matemba, Y.H. (2003) “The Pre-colonial Political History of BaKgatla ba ga Mmanaana of Botswana, c. 1600-1881,” Botswana Notes and Records, volume 35, .57

Mookodi, G. (2000) “The Complexities of Female Household Headship in Botswana,” Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, volume 14, no. 2, 12-23.

Morton, F. (1998) “The Politics of Cultural Conservatism in Colonial Botswana: Queen Seingwaeng’s Zionist Campaign in the BaKgatla Reserve, 1937-1947,” Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, volume 12, number 1 & 2, 22-39.

Morton, B. (1998) “The Evolution of Women’s Property Rights in Colonial Botswana, c.1890-1966,” Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies, volume 12, number 1 & 2, 5-21.

Solo, K. (2005) A Traditional Response to Overcrowded Prisons: The Case of Botswana, A Paper Presented at the Pretoria Country club, 1-4.

Books

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., Robinson, J. (2003) “An African Success Story: Botswana,” Rodrik, D (ed) In Search of Prosperity: Analytical Narrative on Economic Growth, Princeton University Press.

Morton, F. & Ramsay, J. (1987) The Birth of Botswana: A History of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1910 to 1966, Gaborone: Longman Botswana, 19-23

Parsons, N. (1999) The Botswana History Page online copy (http://216.239.59.10)

Parsons, N. and Crowder, M. (1994) Sir Charles Rey: Monarch of All I Survey: Bechuanaland Diaries 1929-37, Gaborone: The Botswana Society.

Ramsay, J. Morton, B. & Mgadla, T. (1996) Building a Nation: A History of Botswana from 1800 to 1910, Gaborone: Longman Botswana, 51-54.

Schapera, I, & Comaroff & J, I. (1991) The Tswana (revised Edition), London and New York: Kegan Paul International.

Schapera, I. (1970) Tribal Innovators: Tswana Chiefs and Social Change, 1795-1940, London and New York: Athlone Press, 67-68.

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Tlou, T. & Campbell, A. (1997) History of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana: Macmillan.

Citation Format:

Yonah Hisbon Matemba. “A Chief Called ‘Woman’: Historical Perspectives on the Changing Face of Bogosi (Chieftainship) in Botswana, 1834-2004,” JENDA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies: Issue 7, 2005.

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