Sir Seretse Khama
July 1, 2021 marked the 100th birthday of Botswana’s founding President Sir Seretse Khama, who died on July 13th 1980.
Historian Jeff Ramsay posits here that the centenary of our Founding President Sir Seretse Khama is an opportunity to take another look at his largely forgotten contribution in facilitating the establishment of the African National Congress (ANC) external wing under Oliver Tambo in 1960.
It is also an opportunity to consider Khama’s subsequent role in helping to secure the Central District as a Safe Haven for those fleeing the Apartheid regime
With the upsurge of mass resistance and sporadic violence that followed the Sharpeville massacre in March of 1960, the National Executive of the ANC met to consider its options.
Anticipating that the Apartheid regime’s declaration of a State of Emergency would be accompanied by the banning of the ANC and its Congress alliance partners, along with the breakaway Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), the Executive decided that it should send representatives abroad, as the first step towards establishing an external wing and corresponding international presence to carry the struggle forward.
With ANC President, Nkosi Albert Luthuli, under detention and otherwise an internal icon, it was decided to dispatch Deputy President Oliver Tambo, who had previously served as Secretary-General as well as the founding Secretary of the ANC Youth League.
Tambo was to be accompanied by Ronald Segal, representing the movement’s white, Congress of Democrats wing and later joined by Dr Yusaf Dadoo of the South African Indian Congress.
Besides establishing an external mission, the three were given the task of forging the South African United Front, which would bring together the Congress Alliance and its underground Communist (SACP) partners along with the PAC and South West African National Union (SWANU – subsequently superseded by SWAPO) to attract support for what was now envisaged to be a protracted liberation struggle.
In addition to their overt diplomatic offensive, Tambo and his partners also assumed the covert task of sourcing assistance for what would shortly emerge as the movement’s armed wing, Nelson Mandela’s Umkonto we Sizwe.
But, at the end of March of 1960, the trio’s immediate challenge was to simply get to Serowe, where Tambo knew they could count on the friendship and protection of his old schoolmate and comrade, Seretse Khama.
With the police looking for them, Tambo and Segal departed from Cape Town for Lobatse in a blue Vauxhall. Like many who would come before and after them, they escaped attention along the way by playing the expected roles of chauffer and master.
Passing through the Pioneer Border Gate the pair, by now famished by their long journey, made their way to the Lobatse Hotel, where they were quickly reminded that the colour bar still prevailed in the then Bechuanaland Protectorate. Segal alone was admitted, bagging Tambo’s meal.
More ominous were the messages they received that Lobatse was not safe. South African agents were becoming omnipotent. Exhausted as they may have been, the pair set off for the 500 kilometres plus by dirt road journey to Serowe in their small saloon car.
Upon their arrival, they found Seretse welcoming if unfortunately in ill health. In terms of comfort and safety, it was decided that Tambo should stay with his brother-in-law Lenyeletse Seretse (Botswana’s second Vice-President as well as the father of Ramadeluka Seretse).
For the next two weeks, they remained in Serowe, awaiting both the arrival of Dr Dadoo and a secure airlift to Tanganyika, finally departing from Palapye airfield on the 15th of April 1960.
During their stay, they were able to take advantage of the cover provided by Seretse’s P.O. Box, as well as the discreet protection of Lenyeletse’s Malekantwa regiment.
Since June 1952 the Malekantwa had also formed the core of the Bammangwato National Congress, which had originally been formed to advocate for local political reform as well as Seretse’s return from exile.
In addition to Lenyeletse, its leading members included Monametse Chiepe, Moutlakgola Nwako, and the brothers Gaolese and Kenneth Koma.
Given his status as the de facto Kgosi of Gammangwato, Seretse was able to help ensure that Serowe, Palapye, and Mahalapye continued to serve as safe havens for the steady flow of freedom fighters that followed Tambo, Dadoo, and Segal’s path to freedom.
In this context, Nelson Mandela in his capacity of commander of Umkonto we Siwe travelled to the Central District in 1962 to hold secret talks with Seretse Khama and Lenyeletse Seretse.
The Gammangwato section of the pipeline that would securely bring a who’s who of additional regional liberation figures through Botswana was thus quietly born.
© Jeff Ramsay
