The Independence Day of Botswana, commonly called Boipuso, is a national holiday observed in Botswana on September 30 of every year. The date celebrates Botswana's Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on September 30, 1966.[1]
Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, fairs, picnics, concerts, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of Botswana. Independence Day is the National Day of Botswana.[2]
Background
Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953A rare Bechuanaland Border Police canteen token.
The most powerful ruler was King Khama III, who had strong support from the British government, and was especially popular among evangelicals in Britain. He collaborated closely with the British military, and kept his vast, but underpopulated lands independent from intruders from South Africa.[3]
Khama's eldest son was Sekgoma II, who became chief of the Bamangwato upon Khama's death in 1923. Sekgoma II's eldest son was named Seretse. Throughout his life Khama took several wives (each after the death of the former one). One of his wives, Semane, birthed a son named Tshekedi.[4]
Sekgoma II's reign lasted only a year or so, leaving his son Seretse, who at the time was an infant, as the rightful heir to the chieftainship (Tshekedi was not in line to be chief since he did not descend from Khama’s oldest son Sekgoma II). So in keeping with tradition, Tshekedi acted as regent of the tribe until Seretse was old enough to assume the chieftainship. The transfer of responsibility from Tshekedi to Seretse was planned to occur after Seretse had returned from his law studies overseas in Britain.
Tshekedi Khama's regency as acting chief of the Bamangwato is best remembered for his expansion of the mephato[clarification needed] regiments for the building of primary schools, grain silos, and water reticulation systems; for his frequent confrontations with the British colonial authorities over the administration of justice in Ngwato country; and for his efforts to deal with a major split in the tribe after Seretse married a white woman, Ruth Williams, while studying law in Britain.
Tshekedi opposed the marriage on the grounds that under Tswana custom a chief could not marry simply as he pleased. He was a servant of the people; the chieftaincy itself was at stake. Seretse would not budge in his desire to marry Ruth (which he did while exiled in Britain in 1948), and tribal opinion about the marriage basically split evenly along demographic lines - older people went with Tshekedi, the younger with Seretse. In the end, British authorities exiled both men (Tshekedi from the Bamangwato territory, Seretse from the Protectorate altogether). Rioting broke out and a number of people were killed.[5]
Seretse and Ruth were allowed to return to the Protectorate and Seretse and Tshekedi were able to patch things up a bit between themselves. By now though, Seretse Khama saw his destiny not as chief of the Bamangwato tribe, but rather as leader of the Botswana Democratic Party and as President of the soon-to-be independent nation of Botswana in 1966. He would remain Botswana's President until his death from pancreatic cancer in 1980.[6]
Customs
Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (such as the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.[citation needed][7]
Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue; many take advantage of the day off and, in some years, a long weekend to gather with relatives or friends. Decorations (e.g., balloons, and clothing) are generally colored blue, white, and black, the colors of Botswana flag. Parades are often held in the morning, before family get-togethers, while fireworks displays occur in the evening after dark at the national stadium.[8]
The Batswana, a term also used to denote all citizens of Botswana, refers to the country's major ethnic group. Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule.
Khama III (1837?–1923), referred to by missionaries as Khama the Good also called Khama the Great, was the Kgosi of the Bangwato people.
Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE was a Botswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Southern Africa. It became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.
Serowe is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bamangwato people in the early 20th century and as birthplace of several of Botswana's presidents. More recently it has undergone significant development as the town and Botswana continue to grow.
Ruth Williams Khama, Lady Khama was the wife of Botswana's first president Sir Seretse Khama, the Paramount Chief of its Bamangwato tribe. She served as the inaugural First Lady of Botswana from 1966 to 1980.
The Bamangwato is one of the eight "principal" Tswana chieftaincies of Botswana. They ruled over a majority Bakalanga population, with minorities including the Basarwa, Birwa and Tswapong. The modern Bamangwato formed in the Central District, with its main town and capital at Serowe. The paramount chief, a hereditary position, occupies one of the fifteen places in Ntlo ya Dikgosi, the national House of Chiefs.
Shoshong is a town in Botswana, formerly the chief settlement of the eastern Bamangwato.
Khama is the name of the royal family of the Bamangwato people of Botswana. As such, it may refer to:
Moutlakgola Palgrave Kediretswe Nwako was a former politician and diplomat in Botswana. Nwako served as the first foreign minister from 1966-1969. He was Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana from 1989 to 1999.
SekgomaII was the king of the Bamangwato people of Bechuanaland in modern-day Botswana.
The Ba-ka-Nswazwi people are originally Bapedi of Mujaji. The Bapedi of Mujaji are Kalangas originally from Munomutapa and were ruled by Mugudo. They are found in Tutume, Nswazwi, Marapong, Masunga and Nkange in Botswana.
Tshekedi Khama was the regent-king of the Bamangwato tribe in 1926 after the death of Sekgoma II.
Seretse Khama Ian Khama is a Motswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, he entered politics and was Vice-President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008, then succeeded Festus Mogae as President on 1 April 2008. He won a full term in the 2009 election and was re-elected in October 2014.
Sebele I was a chief (kgosi) of the Kwena —a major Tswana tribe (morafe) in modern-day Botswana— who ruled from 1892 until his death in 1911. During his lifetime, he resisted the 1885 Bechuanaland Protectorate as well as the control of his domains by Cecil Rhodes' British South African Company, which was administering, by a royal charter signed in October 1889, his homeland in the Bechuanaland Protectorate and other regions of Central Africa.
A United Kingdom is a 2016 biographical romantic drama film directed by Amma Asante and written by Guy Hibbert, based on the true-life romance between Seretse Khama, heir to the throne of Bechuanaland, and his wife Ruth Williams Khama. David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike portray Seretse and Ruth, respectively.
The history of the Cinema of Botswana comprises film-making in the Southern African country of Botswana, both before and after Botswana's independence. The cinema of Botswana is one of a number of African national cinemas that also includes the national cinemas of Benin, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, among others.
Ntebogang Ratshosa (1882–1979) was mothshwareledi (regent) of the BaNgwaketse, one of the eight ethnic groups of present-day Botswana, from 1924–1928. She was the first woman to serve on the Native Advisory Council of Botswana.
Semane Setlhoko Khama (1881–1937) was a mohumagadi of the BaNgwato chieftaincy in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Educated in a missionary school, she became a teacher and upon her marriage to Khama III continued to press for education for the BaNgwato. A proponent of modern medicine, she was influential in bringing modern midwifery to the area. As a devout Christian, she encouraged women's involvement in the church and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
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