Gloves off in GaMmangwato royal house
Khama accused of being divisive instead of uniting Morafhe Arrival of Madibela Kgosi worsens things Those with dissenting voices to Khama’s wishes targeted We are being hindered from executing our duties- Gasebalwe Seretse That GaNgwaketse gentleman is ma
The war within the Gammangwato royal family and by extension the tribe, has now reached a point where no one is able to hide behind the walls to express their disgruntlement at how things have turned out. Former President and Kgosikgolo of
Gammangwato Ian Khama is being accused of being the centre of the division within the tribe instead of being the voice of calm and stability. is is according to Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse of Pilikwe Village. Gasebalwe Seretse, who under normal circumstances is a cousin to Khama, is a royal uncle under the custom of Gammangwato. In a no holds barred interview with Botswana
Guardian this week, Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse said the former President has to be called to order. He said things are now in a terrible state in the tribal territory because of Khama. He claimed that there has been a hit list of Dikgosi
that voice any dissent to what Khama is doing to be targeted and discredited in their jurisdictions. “I think the time is now for someone to tell the story the way it is. Kgosikgolo has been shielded for long while he was doing wrong. Even the people who always communicate with morafe on his behalf tell people what him and them want the tribe to hear. “is cannot be tolerated anymore. I have nothing against him as
Kgosikgolo but my issue is the way he wants to have things done. Instead of being a unifying gure, he is the centre of division and destruction,” Kgosi
Gasebalwe Seretse said this week. He claims that he is among those who have been targeted to be discredited on the work they are doing for their morafe.
New entrants into the royal family feud,
Madibela- Kgosi regiment, is said to have compounded things. According to
Kgosi Seretse one of the leaders in the regiment, Segaetsho Garekwe has been assigned to discredit him in all fronts.
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He said Garekwe has been into his chie aincy territory and misinforming
morafe. “He can come to my jurisdiction and do as he pleases. He recently called a meeting where he said he was giving progress on projects in the area. Remember this is the same man who is leading Madibela- Kgosi and was at the Palamaokuwe ward meeting where the whole plan was hatched to target dissenting voices. To have di erences is allowed in our constitution and culture, so why should it be used against certain people,” asked the frustrated Pilikwe
Kgosi. He said the only problem with him and others is that they believe there has to be ways of engaging with government regarding the di erences with the GaMmangwato leadership. “ere are ways to engage government. e problem is when you di er with Kgosikgolo
on how he does things, you are labelled as pro- government. But there are channels to deal with this dispute with government without throwing tantrums.
Kgosikgolo must come to his senses because his Morafe is the one su ering at the end of the day,” he told this publication. Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse said they are now living in fear because they do not know what might happen next since there is now a new player in the feud, being Madibela- Kgosi. Kgosi
Gasebalwe Seretse’s residential house was burned to ashes last year in what is suspected to be foul play. Another contention by Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse is having Mogomotsi Kaboeamodimo, the Khama Foundation Chief Executive O cer, in the mix. He argues that Kaboeamodimo is meddling in their a airs and making the situation beyond reproach. “at gentleman from Kanye is also a problem in the entire circus. We cannot have someone who is not a royal member and worse still, not a Mongwato meddling in our a airs. I mean Kaboeamodimo comes from another tribe and in that tribe he is not even within the royal circle but he is one of the mediators between the royal uncles and Kgosikgolo. He is serving no good for our tribe,” Kgosi Seretse argued. He called on Kaboeamodimo to stay away from their a airs.
Contacted for comment, Khama expressed ignorance of the claims made. “I can answer all those questions as one by saying that what you are asking is something I have no knowledge of whatsoever and is the rst time any of that has come to my attention,” he said. Garekwe told this publication that he has nothing against Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse. “My issue was as Pilikwe people we didn’t follow proper procedure when installing Kgosi Seretse. e owner of the Kgotla in terms of procedure was to let us know who to install as Motshwarelela Bogosi because that is the position that Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse is holding even though he calls himself Kgosi of Pilikwe. “So if we follow proper procedure he is still to be installed or approved,” Garekwe said in an interview, adding that all he wanted was for Kgosi Gasebalwe Seretse to occupy his current seat properly and without any doubt. According to Garekwe his position of spokesperson for Madibela- Kgosi is because there have been distortions of information shared regarding Kgosikgolo. He said their main focus is to see Kgosikogolo return home as per his request. “What I am doing has nothing to do with Pilikwe. Our focus is to see Kgosikgolo return as per his plea to the royal uncles and we will make it public when the time is right. We have been having fragmented communication on various issues including that one, so my position is to ensure we speak with one coordinated voice. Kgosikgolo is coming back home whether someone likes it or not if you don’t want step aside you will get in trouble,” Garekwe said. According to Garekwe, Khama has made it clear to the uncles that he wants to return home to his people. He fears nothing because he made it clear that he wants to serve his people and will face all the fears of death because a er- all, we will all die at a given time and place, Garekwe.
Kaboeamodimo said there is nothing new in the current accusation since the same has been said about him last in the same publication.