BATTLE ROYALE

In a Kgotla meeting that was called by Kgosi Malope II last week Wednesday, to officially open Kgotla proceedings to his tribe in the New Year, Serwalo Gaseitsewe, the daughter of the late Mookami Kwenantle Gaseitsewe, publicly demanded what she calls her rightful place in the Bangwaketse tribal administration. A visibly frustrated Serwalo accused Kgosi Malope II of sidelining her family, although her father was a descendant of the Bangwaketse royal house, being a brother to Kgosi Bathoen II. She explained that her father was deputy to Kgosi Bathoen II so it is in order that she or one of her three sons inherit her father’s royal position. The Kgotla meeting nearly turned chaotic when Kgosi Malope II, in responding to Serwalo explained that Mookami Gaseitsewe was never Kgosi of Bangwaketse, therefore culturally he has no inheritance in the Bangwaketse tribal administration. Serwalo kept on angrily interjecting Kgosi Malope II. In an interview with The Midweek Sun on the sidelines of the meeting, Serwalo explained that she has three grown sons who should be accommodated in the tribal administration. She said that because her father was deputy to Kgosi Bathoen II she wants to inherit what is rightfully hers. She bluntly said ‘Ke batla mogotswana wame.’ The 77-year-old Serwalo argues that because of her advanced age, one of her sons can occupy his grandfather’s position. She insists that even though she was never married, her sons qualify for positions in the royal house against the contention by the tribe that her sons ‘Ke ditlogolo’ so they cannot rule. She claims that in her understanding, she satisfied a cultural provision by paying lobola of eight cattle to Kgosi Seepapitso 1V in order to legitimise her sons as direct members of the royal house and not ‘ditlogolo’. Responding to Serwalo, a member of the royal house and uncle to Kgosi Malope II, Kgosi Daniel Mathiba described her demands as outrageous. “There is only one Kgosi at a time and therefore Mookami Gaseitsewe was never a Kgosi but an assistant to his brother Kgosi Bathoen II. “In that respect neither Serwalo nor her children can claim inheritance of the Bangwaketse chieftainship,” Mathiba explained. He said in the Sengwaketse culture a woman cannot pay lobola to change the status of her children from being maternal nephews (ditlogolo). That is only reserved for fathers who want to adopt their children born out of wedlock. Kgosi Mathiba insisted that Serwalo is embarrassing herself by demanding that her sons be included in the royal lineage. When reached for a comment, Kgosi Malope II said that “Mothusa kgosi ga ana boswa mo kgotleng.” He reasoned that a deputy chief serves at the pleasure of Kgosi and that he can be replaced by anyone who the Kgosi so desires. During the Kgotla meeting, some Bangwaketse who were seemingly embarrassed by what nearly turned into a quarrel between Serwalo and Kgosi Malope II in the Kgotla, pleaded that the matter be addressed indoors. Kgosi Malope II categorically made it clear that they have addressed this issue on numerous occasions in his office to no avail. In his view the matter is closed and there is nothing further to engage about. Serwalo made her intensions clear that she will fight for her sons’ recognition and inclusion in the tribal administration to the bitter end, “Ke tla a swa kentse ke raga,” she said.