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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).
Molepolole is a large village in Kweneng District, Botswana.
The Battle of Dimawe was fought between several Batswana tribes and the Boers in August 1852. Under the command of Kgosi Setshele I of the Bakwena tribe, the Batswana were victorious at Dimawe Hill.
Englishman M. K. Kgabo (1925–1992) was a Motswana politician. He served as a member of the National Assembly of Botswana from its founding in 1966 until his retirement in 1989.
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. He held onto power by resisting advisors and taking a harsh approach to ruling, while he collaborated with other dikgosi to protest increasing British control over the protectorate.
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.
Kgabo II was kgosi of the Kwena tribe. He was born a junior son of the Bakwena kgosi Tebele. Tebele was succeeded by Kgabo's older brother Mogopa, and Kgabo was given control of a ward within the tribe. Following a drought, Mogopa wished to move the tribe to find rain, but Kgabo and his village did not accompany them. The Bakwena split into two separate groups: the Bakwena-Kgabo staying in Rathatheng, and the Bakwena-Mogopa that settled in Mabjanamatshwana.
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.
Moithali Sechele II was regent of the Kwena tribe from 1986 to 1996. Moithali was the son of Mack Sechele, regent of the Bakwena. Upon Mack's death in 1986, Moithali was chosen over his elder brother Sentibile to succeed him. Moithali died in March 1996. He did not have any children, and he was succeeded as regent by Kgosikwena Sebele.
Edwin Kgosikwena Sebele was regent of the Kwena tribe from 1996 to 2002.
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.
References
- Ramsay, Jeff (1996). "The Fall and Decline of the Bakwena Monarchy". Botswana Notes and Records. 28: 65–86. JSTOR 40980134.
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