A celebration of the life of a friend and writer extraordinaire
( 8 May 1938– 14 May 2021)
‘ And who are you?’ was the response I received from the shadow in the doorway of Motima Lenyora in August 1975.
This was in reply to my, ‘ You must be Sandy Grant’, in a very Stanley- Livingstone meeting style it occurred to me on refection years later, there being few makgoa in Mochudi, and in his late thirties by then, certainly the oldest I had ever seen.
Sandy had just returned from completing his M. Sc. in Conservation of the Built Environment in Edinburgh, some 12 years after he first came to Botswana in 1963, at the beginning of a terrible drought, having been recruited in London to come here by Martin Ennals of the National Council of Civil Liberties to assist with community initiatives and start new self- help projects, as well as with a situation of increasing numbers of South African refugees from apartheid coming to Botswana.
His first work for Botswana ( still Bechuanaland then) was the starting of the Mochudi Community Centre and numerous community initiatives. From 1968 to 1974 he was based in Gaborone with the Botswana Christian Council, giving wideranging support to community projects throughout the country.
Now, 1975, his aim was to preserve the history and culture of Batswana, and of Bakgatla in particular, by converting the former National School of The Bakgatla, on top of Phuthadikobo hill ( built under Kgosi Isang at such a height, visible from south Africa ‘ to show those maburu who we are’ – paraphrased), just below Kgosi Linchwe II’s house. This was to become Phutadikobo Museum.
Over the next few years the museum (‘ meseum’ to most Bakgatla) received numerous artefacts locally and from a Diaspora of sources. The collection of photographs from the 1930s, cultural artefacts, early technology and even a letter from David Livingstone calling for help in preventing the attacks by the boers, was the only museum in the country where such could be seen. The highly regarded and multi- faceted museum was not only a tribute to Batswana, but now to Sandy for the monumental and tireless work he put in to make it happen.
During this time I got to know the man as well as the worker, the lover of letters, books and literature, of music, of photography; the man who observed, questioned, and laughed. A man of great compassion and wit. Although of Scottish ancestry, he was born and bred in England, and received an M. A. in History from Cambridge University. From there he worked for two London publishers. But he rarely spoke of his past, only of the present and future. But of course he wrote a massive amount of history.
In the 1984 elections he stood as an independent candidate for parliament, with his logo leitlho ( the eye) painted large on the end of his house. He didn’t win, but he did get some votes, and just accepted the result. Sandy married Elinah in 1989, after we all thought he was a confirmed bachelor. He was a man of much patience, and for sure it paid off: Elinah is wonderful.
Around 1995 he moved to Odi, and was from here much of his most wellknown writing began, following on from his highly perceptive critical column in the Midweek Sun, ‘ Etcetera, etcetera’, in October 1991, and published as a collection in 1998. From there on he was a weekly contributor to Mmegi on many subjects and issues, including the column ‘ Ecetera II’, sometimes drawing venomous defensive reactions.
His first highly pictorial work was Decorated Homes in Botswana. For this he traveled throughout the country with Elinah in the early 1990s, photographing and taking notes over many months. This book, published in 1995, represents the finest of remaining traditional architecture and building in the country.
In 2001 he published People of Mochudi, and in 2002 Mochudi Around the Time of Independence, highly illustrated with his photographs.
In 2012 he published Botswana: An Historical Anthology, a rich and fascinating collection of material from David Livingstone in the 1850s to President Ian Khama. Also in 2012 he published Botswana and Its National Heritage, the first book to be published on the national heritage of Botswana.
Each topic was chosen for its national general interest or concern, significance and/ or importance. Neither of these professes to be comprehensive histories, but rather what you may not find in the standard histories. In the following year he was awarded the Presidential Honour by President Mogae.
In 2020 he published Botswana: Choice and Opportunity: A Memoir, 1963– 2018, which is really his magnum opus, a chronology of Botswana through those years, and exceptionally readable and vivid, with so many personalities and events being vividly brought to life. Do please order your copy of this and all his other books from your local bookseller. Several are also available on Amazon, or via goodreads. com.
Also in 2020 he published Botswana: Photographs of a Country in Transition; People and Their Places 1965– 2016. The title speaks for itself. To complete his legacy, Sandy’s last work, Gaborone, Birth of a Capital, will be published later this year. I promise, one way or another.
Some have thought of Sandy as a cynic. That is a misconception: being critical, questioning and thoughtful does not constitute cynicism: he was a thinker. As one of his sons also put it, “A colourful character, loving husband and loving father – he is dearly missed”.
And from another close friend, Martin Reynolds: “After initial disbelief, I cried. His loss will be felt very widely. Sandy was such a wonderful character and a good friend and companion”.
Sandy is survived by his wife Elinah two children Setso and Zipho and grandchild Leano.