Thari Wilson Motlhagodi was a Motswana politician. He represented Mochudi in the National Assembly of Botswana beginning in 1965 as a member of the oppositional Botswana People's Party.
Thari Wilson Motlhagodi [1] was one of the early members of the Botswana People's Party, and he was elected in 1965 to serve as the Member of Parliament for Mochudi in the National Assembly of Botswana. [2] During the 1st Parliament of Botswana, Motlhagodi was one of only three members of the Botswana People's Party, along with Kenneth Nkhwa and Philip Matante. [3] [4] Upon his election, Motlhagodi joined Nkhwa in calling for a slower independence process, citing fears of internal unrest and foreign threats from neighboring governments. [5] Motlhagodi has been described as one of the "Botswana People's Party firebrand[s]" of his era. [6]
Botswana is a parliamentary republic in which the President of Botswana is both head of state and head of government. The nation's politics are based heavily on British parliamentary politics and on traditional Batswana chiefdom. The legislature is made up of the unicameral National Assembly and the advisory body of tribal chiefs, the Ntlo ya Dikgosi. The National Assembly chooses the president, but once in office the president has significant authority over the legislature with only limited separation of powers. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) rules as a dominant party; while elections in Botswana are considered free and fair by observers, the BDP has controlled the National Assembly since independence. Political opposition in Botswana often exists between factions in the BDP rather than through separate parties, though several opposition parties exist and regularly hold a small number of seats in the National Assembly.
The Government of Botswana often abbreviated as GOB, is the union government created by the constitution of Botswana having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The government is led by the president.
Moshupa is a large village in the Southern District of Botswana with a population of 20,016 per the 2011 census. The people of Moshupa are called the Bakgatla-ba-ga Mmanaana, a group also found in Thamaga. Along with the related Bakgatla-ba-ga Kgafela of Mochudi, they arrived to the region from the Transvaal region in South Africa throughout the eighteenth century.
The National Assembly is the sole legislative body of Botswana's unicameral Parliament, of which consists of the President and the National Assembly. The House passes laws, provides ministers to form Cabinet, and supervises the work of government. It is also responsible for adopting the country's budgets. It is advised by the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, a council of tribal chiefs which is not a house of Parliament.
More than 70% of the population of Botswana is Christian. Most are members of the Anglican, United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and African independent churches. Anglicans are part of the Church of the Province of Central Africa. The Roman Catholic Church includes about 5% of the nation's population.
Phandu Tombola Chaka Skelemani is a Motswana who is the current speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana. He served in the government of Botswana as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2014. A member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Skelemani is a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Botswana and a member of the Pan-African Parliament from Botswana, and he served as Attorney-General of Botswana from 1992 to 2003.
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.
The Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966.
Tshekedi Stanford Khama is a Botswana politician. He was MP for Serowe West from 2008 to 21 April 2023. He was automatically disqualified from the National Assembly after missing two consecutive sessions because of his self-imposed exile to South Africa.
Ponatshego Honorius Kefaeng Kedikilwe is a Motswana politician who was Vice-President of Botswana from 2012 to 2014. A member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), he has also served as Minister of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources since 2007.
The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) is a right-wing populist political party in Botswana, founded in 2010 by MPs and other politicians who parted ways with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) due to differences with Ian Khama, the leader of the BDP and the President of Botswana at the time.
Josiah Moses Gondo was a Rhodesian politician, and a member of parliament (MP) from 1962 to his death. In May 1965, as leader of the United People's Party, he became the first black politician to serve as the Rhodesian House of Assembly's Leader of the Opposition.
The Thari also known as the Dhatki are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who reside in the Thar Desert, which is divided between Pakistan as well as India. They speak Thari, also known as Dhatki language. The Thari live primarily in Tharparkar, a district of Sindh in Pakistan. In India, Thari speakers are found in parts of Rajasthan.
General elections were held in Botswana on 23 October 2019 to elect MPs and local government councillors. Despite a high profile split in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in May 2019 when former President Ian Khama left the party and switched his support to the new Botswana Patriotic Front, the BDP's vote share increased to almost 53% as the party won 38 of the 57 elected seats in the National Assembly, a gain of one compared to the 2014 elections. The elections were the twelfth straight victory for the BDP.
Désirée van der Walt is a South African politician who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since August 2023, previously serving in the Assembly between 2004 and 2010 and again from 2014 to 2023. She was a member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 2010 to 2014 and again in 2023. Van der Walt is a member of the Democratic Alliance.
Philip Parcel Goanwe Matante was a Motswana nationalist and founder of the Botswana People's Party. He was the opposition leader in the National Assembly of Botswana from its establishment in 1965 until his death in 1979.
General elections will be held in Botswana in 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as local councils across the country. Ever since the first election in 1965, the Botswana Democratic Party has held a majority of seats in the National Assembly and thus governed alone for 57 years without interruption, making Botswana a dominant-party system.
Gaefalale Gaolebale Sebeso (1908–1992) was a Motswana politician. He served as a member of National Assembly of Botswana from 1965 to 1989, representing Tswapong South and serving as deputy speaker for the duration of his tenure. He was a member of the Botswana Democratic Party.
Tsheko Tsheko (1923–1969) was a Motswana politician. He was a member of the National Assembly of Botswana from 1965 to 1969, where he served in the Cabinet of Botswana.
Kenneth Moesi Nkhwa is a Motswana politician. He was a member of the National Assembly of Botswana from its creation in 1965 until he lost reelection in 1989. He represented the North-West constituency as a member of the Botswana People's Party.