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The Bakwena or Bakoena are a large Sotho-Tswana clan in Southern Africa of the southern Bantu group. They can be found in different parts of southern Africa such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini. "Kwena" is a Sotho/Tswana/Sepedi word meaning "crocodile", the crocodile is also their totem (seboko).
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The Bangwaketse are one of the eight principal tribes in Botswana, and are ethnic Tswana. Kanye is the original Bangwaketse village located in the Southern District settled in 1853, originally called Ntsweng Hill. The king of the tribe is King Malope II, son of Seepapitso IV. The Bangwaketse people live in the arid mountainous region of Southern Botswana mentioned in the book Cherub: Guardian Angel. It is bordered by Moshupa, Lobatse, and Jwaneng, and it is a 45-minute drive from Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. The village is served by Kanye Airport.
Sechele II Kealeboga Sebele was kgosi of the Kwena tribe in the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1911 until his death in 1918. His rule was marked by a split within the tribe as opposing dikgosana led by his uncles rejected his authority. Sechele II was succeeded by his son Sebele II.
Motswasele II was the kgosi of the Kwena tribe from c. 1805 until his death c. 1821.
Legwale was a kgosi of the Kwena tribe in the late 18th century. He was preceded by his father Seitlhamo and succeeded by his brother Maleke as regent. Gary Okihiro has contested the idea that Legwale is a single individual, saying that there were two consecutive dikgosi named Legwale who were father and son.
Kelebantse Sebele II was kgosi of the Kwena tribe in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. He succeeded his father, Sechele II, in 1918. Sebele quickly came into conflict with other members of his family and with the British colonial administration, which deemed him uncooperative and unstable.
Seitlhamo was a kgosi of the Kwena tribe. He ruled from the death of his father Motswasele I c. 1785 until his own death c. 1795. He was succeeded by his son Legwale.
Maleke was a regent of the Kwena tribe. He was the son of kgosi Seitlhamo and the younger brother of kgosi Legwale. Maleke became regent of the Bakwena after Legwale died c. 1798. As kgosi, Maleke led an attack against a Bangwaketse village in Kanye to avenge the death of his father. He burned the village, and he is said to have killed Tawana, the uncle of the village's leader, Makaba. A short time later, Maleke died of rabies after he was bitten by a dog. He was succeeded as regent by his younger brother Tshosa until Legwale's son Motswasele II became kgosi c. 1805.
Tshosa was a regent of the Kwena tribe from 1803 to 1807. He became regent following the death of his brother Maleke, who was also a regent, and he held the position until he passed it to the Kwena heir, his nephew Motswasele II. After Motswasele's death, Tshosa led a group of the fractured Kwena tribe. He was killed in an attack by the Bakololo.
Kgari Kealeboga Sechele II was a kgosi of the Kwena tribe in the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1931 until his death in 1962. He was appointed to the position by the British colonial administration after it deposed his elder brother Sebele II, and his rule was contested by the tribe. He was succeeded by his younger brother Neale Sechele.
Motswasele I was kgosi of the Kwena tribe from c. 1770 until his death c. 1790. He was preceded by his grandfather Motshodi and succeeded by his son Seitlhamo.
Motshodi or Mochudi was kgosi of the Kwena tribe. He was preceded by his father Kgabo II and succeeded by his grandson Motswasele I.
Neale Molaodi Sechele (1915–1985) was kgosi of the Bakwena. He was appointed to the position by the court in 1963 following the death of his brother Kgari Sechele II, and he was forced to abdicate in 1970. As Neale was appointed against the wishes of the people and he often neglected his responsibilities, he was regarded poorly by the Bakwena.
Bonewamang Padi Sechele (1926–1978) was the African Tribal Authority of the Kwena tribe from 1970 until his death in 1978. He was appointed by the government in lieu of a kgosi after the abdication of Neale Sechele.
MacIntyre "Mack" Sechele was the regent of the Kwena tribe from 1978 to 1986. He was born to kgosi Sechele II of the Bakwena and his first wife Lena Rauwe. When a succession dispute occurred between Bonewamang Padi Sechele and Moruakgomo Sechele in 1962, Mack supported Moruakgomo to be kgosi. Though he was the son of a kgosi, Mack did not challenge the seniority of his nephews when they were considered potential heirs.
Kgari Sechele III is the kgosi of the Kwena tribe. He was born to Bonewamang Padi Sechele, kgosi of the Bakwena, in 1973 or 1974. Bonewamang died in a car accident in 1978 while Kgari was four years old. Mack Sechele, Moithali Sechele II, and Kgosikwena Sebele all served as regents for Kgari. Mokgaladi Sechele initiated legal proceedings in 1999 to have himself recognized as the heir, and after his death the following year the challenge was continued by his son Kealeboga Sechele. Kgari was formally sworn in as kgosi in March 2002. He legally married his wife in August 2008, and their wedding was held on 11 July 2009.
Moruakgomo Sechele was a pretender of the Kwena tribe as the son of kgosi Sebele II. His claim to be kgosi was widely supported in 1962, but it was challenged by his cousin Bonewamang. A court decision disqualified both of them despite acknowledging their claims.
References
- Ngcongco, Leonard D. (1979). "Origins of the Tswana". Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies. 1 (2): 21–46. ISSN 0256-2316.
- Otlogetswe, Thapelo J. (2015). "Treatment of Spelling Variants in Setswana Monolingual Dictionaries". Lexikos. 25. doi: 10.5788/25-1-1299 .
- Schapera, Isaac (1980). "Notes on the Early History of the Kwena (Bakwena-bagaSechele)". Botswana Notes and Records. 12: 83–87. ISSN 0525-5090. JSTOR 40980796.