Seretse Khama

(b. Serowe, Bechuanaland, 21 July 1921; d. 13 July 1980) Botswana; President 1966 – 80 Born as the undisputed heir to the Bangwato chieftaincy Seretse was only 4 years old when his father died and his uncle, Tshekedi, was recognized as regent. His marriage to a white woman, Ruth Williams, in London in 1949 was bitterly opposed by the South African government because it contradicted its own apartheid system. Under pressure from the South Africans the British government banned Khama and his wife from his homeland for several years and stripped him of his hereditary rights to the Bangwato chieftaincy. Although the latter action was personally devastating for him at the time it did enable him to develop as a truly national leader and he retained his traditional authority in the eyes of his people without being encumbered with the day-to-day duties of a chief. In 1962 he founded the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) which has remained the leading party ever since. Following BDP victory in the pre-independence elections he became state President at independence in 1966.

Under his leadership Botswana entered an era of very rapid economic growth combined with the maintenance of a stable and democratic political system which made it an outstanding example of post-independence success in Sub-Saharan Africa. Economic success was due to a mixture of good luck (the discovery of huge deposits of diamonds) and good management (the development of an efficient and largely non-corrupt state structure). Administrative efficiency and political democracy resulted, to a significant extent, from the leadership of Khama.

As the leader of a black majority-ruled state bordering on apartheid South Africa he demonstrated considerable diplomatic skill in combining a pragmatic recognition of vulnerability in relation to a powerful neighbour with a foreign policy based on clear moral principles and a rejection of racism. In his later years he emerged as a respected international statesman and a voice for moderation. At home his political authority remained undiminished in spite of the freedom allowed to opposition groups to criticize as they saw fit. He was deeply mourned following his premature death from cancer. His greatest legacy to Botswana was to have constructed a system which survived his departure and to have made himself dispensable.

Seretse M. Khama (1921-1980), first president of Botswana after it gained independence from Great Britain in 1966, was a major figure in his country's political history. He was also the grandson of Khama III the Good, who allied his kingdom of Bechuanaland with British colonizers in the late 19th century. As such, Khama carried the title of Sir Seretse, chieftain of the Ngwato (or Bamangwato) tribe.

Seretse M. Khama was born in the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) in southern Africa, on July 1, 1921. He was heir to the chieftainship of the Ngwato (or Bamangwato) people, the largest of the Bechuanaland tribes. His uncle, Tshekedi Khama, acted as regent and groomed the boy to take over the chieftainship. He was schooled at home until the age of ten when he was sent to South Africa, where he attended Tiger Kloff, Adams College, and Lovedale, graduating in 1940. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Fort Hare University College and went on to study law at the University of the Witwatersrand. During his first year there, his uncle decided it was time for the young man to become chief, but Khama asked for permission to continue his studies in England, where he attended Oxford University.

A Troubling Marriage

After three years at Oxford and as a law student in London, Khama informed his uncle that he was going to marry an English woman, Ruth Williams. She was a typist with a local insurance company. Everyone but the young couple was deeply distressed - Uncle Tshekedi, Williams's parents, and even the government of South Africa, which warned the British Colonial Office that trouble would come from this interracial marriage.

The uncle's basic objection was that Khama, as chief-designate, had violated tribal law and custom by taking a wife without the prior assent of the tribe. Moreover, Tshekedi Khama was aware of the possible consequences of a mixed marriage in this exposed territory, overshadowed by its white-supremacist neighbors, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. The marriage was discussed at three large kgotlas (tribal meetings) held between November 1948 and June 1949.

At the first kgotla, nearly all the speakers opposed the marriage, and it was resolved not to accept Ruth Williams as the wife of a future chief. Furthermore, she was not to be allowed to enter Ngwato country. More people were won over to Seretse's side at the second kgotla in December 1948, but most tribesmen still expressed hostility. By now, however, rumors (which were false) were circulating that the uncle himself had designs on the chieftainship. At the final kgotla in June 1949, tribal feeling had turned decisively against Tshekedi Khama. In a short speech, Seretse Khama asked the tribe if they were in favor of him and his wife, and most shouted their approval.

International Complications

Khama and Ruth Williams were married in a civil ceremony, because all London churches closed their doors to the couple, on Sept. 29, 1948. Approval of the marriage by the kgotla did not, however, end the trouble. The British government instituted a commission of inquiry to examine the dispute and ascertain whether Khama was "a fit and proper person to discharge the functions of chief." The British may have been responding to South African pressures. Dr. D. F. Malan, the South African prime minister, had expressed bitter opposition to the marriage and had declared that Seretse Khama was prohibited from entering South Africa. (This was a serious restriction as the capital of Bechuanaland was then the South African town of Mafeking.) It was thought that South Africa would intensify its demand to incorporate the territory, as it had long wished to do, and that it might apply economic pressures that could cripple Bechuanaland, which was utterly dependent upon South Africa.

The findings of the commission were never published, but in 1950 the British government decided to withhold recognition from Khama as chief for at least five years. During this time he was prohibited from entering Bechuanaland without special permission. Subsequently, in 1952 the British offered Khama an official post in Jamaica if he would give up his claim to the chieftainship. He refused. Pressure from the Ngwato failed to induce the British government to alter its stand.

Return Home

Finally, in 1956, Khama, who had been living in London for some years, and his uncle both renounced their children's claims to the chieftainship. That year, Khama, his wife, and four children, Jacqueline, Ian Seretse, and twins Tshekedi Stanford and Anthony Paul, returned to Bechuanaland as private citizens.

Not barred from participating in local politics, Khama soon became an important member of the Ngwato Tribal Council, the African Advisory Council, and the Joint Advisory Council. He supported a motion for the introduction of a legislative council and spoke out strongly against racial discrimination. In 1961 Khama became a member of the new Legislative Council and was subsequently appointed to the Executive Council. In 1962 he was instrumental in founding the Bechuanaland Democratic party.

Constitutional development proceeded rapidly in the early 1960s. By March 1965, after Khama's party had won 28 out of the 31 contested constituencies, Bechuanaland was granted self-government and Khama became prime minister. Full sovereign independence was granted on September 30, 1966, when Bechuanaland became the Republic of Botswana (an old tribal name for the country). Seretse Khama became its first president and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

As the new leader, Sir Seretse Khama showed great determination to develop his poverty-stricken and drought-ravaged country. He achieved free universal education and tried to strengthen the nation's economy. His major challenge was South Africa. Despite an overwhelming economic dependence on its southern neighbor, Khama had always made clear his abhorrence of apartheid, South Africa's policy of racial apartness. He had even deported a South African citizen for making racist statements. Despite a fundamental difference of philosophy, however, Khama managed to maintain reasonably cordial relations with his powerful neighbor and at the same time preserve an undisputed independence.

In time, even Khama's in-laws softened on the marriage and often visited the state house in Gaborone. Khama was reelected to successive terms and remained president of Botswana until his death on July 13, 1980.

Further Reading

There is no full-length biography of Seretse. Information on him is contained in John Redfern, Ruth and Seretse: "A Very Disreputable Transaction" (1955); Mary Benson, Tshekedi Khama (1960); and S. M. Gabatshwane, Seretse Khama and Botswana (1966). Recommended for general historical background are William Malcolm Hailey, The Republic of South Africa and the High Commission Territories (1963), and Richard P. Stevens, Lesotho, Botswana, and Swaziland (1967).

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: Botswanan statesman who was the first president of Botswana (1921-1980)
  Synonym: Khama

Sir Seretse Khama
1st President of Botswana
In office 30 September 1966 – 13 July 1980
Vice President	Quett Masire
Preceded by	Sekgoma Khama, King (Kgosi) Sekgoma II (1923-1925)
Succeeded by	Quett Ketumile Joni Masire
Born	1 July 1921(1921-07-01) Serowe
Died	13 July 1980 (aged 59) Gaborone
Political party	Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)
Spouse(s)	Ruth Williams Khama

Sir Seretse Khama, KBE (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980) was a Botswanian stateman. Born into the royal family of what was then the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home—with a popular but controversial bride -- to lead his country's independence movement. He founded the Botswana Democratic Party in 1962 and became Prime Minister in 1965. In 1966, Botswana gained independence and Khama became its first president. During his presidency, the country underwent rapid economic and social progress.^[1]

Contents 1 Childhood and education 2 Marriage and exile 3 Return to politics 4 Presidency 5 Legacy 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

Childhood and education

Seretse Khama was born in 1921 in Serowe, in what was then the Bechuanaland Protectorate. He was the son of Sekgoma Khama II, the paramount chief of the Bamangwato people, and the grandson of Khama III, their king. The name "Seretse" means “the clay that binds together,” and was given to him to celebrate the recent reconciliation of his father and grandfather; this reconciliation assured Seretse’s own ascension to the throne with his aged father’s death in 1925. At the age of four, Seretse became kgosi (king), with his uncle Tshekedi Khama as his regent and guardian.

After spending most of his youth in South African boarding schools, Khama attended Fort Hare University College there, graduating with a general B.A. in 1944. He then traveled to the United Kingdom and spent a year at Balliol College, Oxford, before joining the Inner Temple in London in 1946, to study to become a barrister.

Marriage and exile

In June 1947, Khama met Ruth Williams, an English clerk at Lloyd's of London, and after a year of courtship, married her. The interracial marriage sparked a furore among both the apartheid government of South Africa and the tribal elders of the Bamangwato. On being informed of the marriage, Khama's uncle Tshekedi Khama demanded his return to Bechuanaland and the annulment of the marriage. Khama did return to Serowe but after a series of kgotlas (public meetings), was re-affirmed by the elders in his role as the kgosi in 1949. Ruth Williams Khama, traveling with her new husband, proved similarly popular. Admitting defeat, Tshekedi Khama left Bechuanaland, while Khama returned to London to complete his studies.

However, the international ramifications of his marriage would not be so easily resolved. Having banned interracial marriage under the apartheid system, South Africa could not afford to have an interracial couple ruling just across their northern border. As Bechuanaland was then a British protectorate (not a colony), the South African government immediately exerted pressure to have Khama removed from his chieftainship. Britain’s Labour government, then heavily in debt from World War II, could not afford to lose cheap South African gold and uranium supplies. There was also a fear that South Africa might take more direct action against Bechuanaland, through economic sanctions or a military incursion.^[2][3] The British government therefore launched a parliamentary enquiry into Khama’s fitness for the chieftainship. Though the investigation reported that he was in fact eminently fit for the rule of Bechuanaland, "but for his unfortunate marriage",^[4] the government ordered the report suppressed (it would remain so for thirty years), and exiled Khama and his wife from Bechuanaland in 1951.

Return to politics

The sentence would not last nearly so long. Various groups protested against the government decision, holding it up as evidence of British racism. In Britain itself there was wide anger at the decision and calls for the resignation of Lord Salisbury, the minister responsible.^[5] A deputation of six Bamangwato traveled to London to see the exiled Khama and Lord Salisbury, in an echo of the 1895 deputation of three Bamangwato kgosis to Queen Victoria, but with no success. However, when ordered by the British High Commission to replace Khama, the people refused to do so.

In 1956, Seretse and Ruth Khama were allowed to return to Bechuanaland as private citizens, after he had renounced the tribal throne. Khama began an unsuccessful stint as a cattle rancher and dabbled in local politics, being elected to the tribal council in 1957. In 1960 he was diagnosed with diabetes.

In 1961, however, Khama leapt back onto the political scene by founding the nationalist Bechuanaland Democratic Party. His exile gave him an increased credibility with an independence-minded electorate, and the BDP swept aside its Socialist and Pan-Africanist rivals to dominate the 1965 elections. Now Prime Minister of Bechuanaland, Khama continued to push for Botswana's independence, from the newly-established capital of Gaborone. A 1965 constitution delineated a new Botswana government, and on 30 September 1966, Botswana gained its independence, with Khama acting as its first President. In 1966 Queen Elizabeth appointed Khama Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Presidency

Statue of Khama outside the Botswana Parliament building

At the time of its independence, Botswana was among the world’s poorest countries, poorer than most African countries.^[6][7][8][9] Khama set out on a vigorous economic program intended to transform it into an export-based economy, built around beef, copper, and diamonds. The 1967 discovery of Orapa’s diamond deposits aided this program. However, other African countries have had abundant resources and still proved poor.^[6]

Between 1966 and 1980 Botswana had the fastest growing economy in the world.^{[citation needed]} Much of this money was reinvested into infrastructure, health, and education costs, resulting in further economic development. Khama also instituted strong measures against corruption, the bane of so many other newly-independent African nations. Unlike other countries in Africa, his administration adopted market-friendly policies to foster economic development. Khama promised low and stable taxes to mining companies, liberalized trade, and increased personal freedoms. He maintained low marginal income tax rates to deter tax evasion and corruption.^[9] He upheld liberal democracy and non-racialism in the midst of a region embroiled in civil war, racial enmity and corruption.^[10]

On the foreign policy front, Khama allowed Rhodesian militant organizations to use Botswana as a base for raiding operations against the incumbent white minority Rhodesian government.^[11] Shortly before his death, Khama would play a major role in negotiating the end of the Rhodesian civil war and the resulting creation and independence of Zimbabwe.^{[citation needed]}

On a personal level, he was known for his intelligence, integrity and sense of humour.^[10]

Legacy

Khama remained president until his death from pancreatic cancer in 1980, when he was succeeded by Vice President Quett Masire. Forty thousand people paid their respects while his body lay in state in Gaborone. He was buried in the Khama family graveyard on a hill in Serowe, Central District.^[12]

Twenty-eight years after Khama's death, his son Ian succeeded Festus Mogae as the fourth President of Botswana; in the 2009 general election he won a landslide victory in which a younger son, Tshekedi Khama, was elected as a parliamentarian from Serowe North West.

References

1. ^ "The Order of the Companions of OR Tambo in Gold". http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders_list.asp?show=152. 
2. ^ Redfern, John (1955). "An appeal". Ruth and Seretse: "A Very Disreputable Transaction". London: Victor Gollancz. pp. 221. "The British government knew well enough, throughout the dispute, that the Union [of South Africa]'s Nationalist Government was playing up the theme of the protectorates, and that it was within the Union's power to apply economic sanctions at any time. (The latest available figures show that more than half the cattle exported from Bechuanaland go to the Union...)" 
3. ^ Rider, Clare (2003). "The "Unfortunate Marriage" of Seretse Khama". The Inner Temple Yearbook 2002/2003. Inner Temple. http://www.innertemple.org.uk/archive/khama.html. Retrieved 2006-08-06.  "Under the provisions of the South Africa Act of 1909, the Union laid claim to the neighbouring tribal territories and, as the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations pointed out to the Cabinet in 1949, the 'demand for this transfer might become more insistent if we disregard the Union government's views'. He went on, 'indeed, we cannot exclude the possibility of an armed incursion into the Bechuanaland Protectorate from the Union if Serestse were to be recognised forthwith, while feeling on the subject is inflamed'."
4. ^ Rider, Clare (2003). "The "Unfortunate Marriage" of Seretse Khama". The Inner Temple Yearbook 2002/2003. Inner Temple. http://www.innertemple.org.uk/archive/khama.html. Retrieved 2006-08-06.  "Since, in their opinion, friendly and co-operative relations with South Africa and Rhodesia were essential to the well-being of the Bamangwato Tribe and the whole of the Protectorate, Serestse, who enjoyed neither, could not be deemed fit to rule. They concluded: 'We have no hesitation in finding that, but for his unfortunate marriage, his prospects as Chief are as bright as those of any native in Africa with whom we have come into contact'."
5. ^ Redfern, John (1955). "The mean marquis". Ruth and Seretse: "A Very Disreputable Transaction". London: Victor Gollancz. pp. 189. "Some sections of the press attacked him, the Daily Express with especial force: ... "For the nation's good, Lord Salisbury's first deed as Commonwealth Relations Secretary should be his last."" 
6. ^ ^{a b} James Haskins, Jim Haskins. African Heroes. p. 126. 
7. ^ Robert Guest (2004isbn=978-1588342140). The Shackled Continent. 
8. ^ "Economic Freedom, Not More Aid, will Transform Africa". Fraser Institute. 2002. http://www.fraserinstitute.org/newsandevents/commentaries/3273.aspx. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Marian L. Tupy (May 14, 2008). "Botswana and Zimbabwe: A Tale of Two Countries". http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9399. 
10. ^ ^{a b} A glimpse of Seretse Khama's legacy
11. ^ 65 Robert Mugabe and the Betrayal of Zimbabwe
12. ^ Tlou, Thomas; Parsons, Neil; Henderson, Willie (1995). Seretse Khama, 1921–1980. Braamfontein: Macmillan Boleswa. pp. 391–2. ISBN 99912 60 31 5. 

Further reading

• Mungazi, Dickson (2004). We Shall Not Fail: Values In The National Leadership Of Seretse Khama, Nelson Mandela And Julius Nyerere. Africa World Press. ISBN 1-59221-250-6. 
• Dutfield, Michael (1990). A Marriage of Inconvenience: Persecution of Ruth and Seretse Khama. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-04-440793-9.  From the 1990 film of the same name.
• Williams, Susan. 2006. Colour Bar. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9811-3
• Seager, Alan. 2005. The Shadow of a Great Rock. Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, England: I & D Books/ the author
• "Seretse Khama" by Neil Parsons, Willie Henderson and Thomas Tlou in 1995

External links

• Penguin Books – A piece by Susan Williams, author of Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation
• University of Botswana History Dept: Seretse Khama 1921-1980
• Royalty in Botswana

Preceded by (–)

President of Botswana 1966–1980

Succeeded by Quett Masire

v • d • e  Presidents of Botswana S. Khama · Masire · Mogae · I. Khama

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