19 Oct 2020

Retired Kgosi Ramosinyi Radipitse of Tonota is an interesting man.

There is more to the old man than meets the eye. The man himself survived two attempted murder by his critics.

The first one was when he was working in the South African gold mines, a bullet fired by a white missed him.

He attributed the incident to jealousy because at that time he had married a white lady with whom he had five children.

“It was just jealous because whites hated blacks then.

Above all, I was handsome and very appealing to women,” he added.

He had to flee South Africa to Botswana, where he married his current wife, Ms Seipone, with whom he has seven children.

He had divorced the one in South Africa.

The second incident was during his early days as a traditional leader.

He explained that he had presided over a case of stock theft involving a Matsitama woman.

Narrating the events that led to the incident, Kgosi Radipitse said the suspects in the incident were brothers of the convicted woman whom he later sentenced to five years imprisonment.

He explained that all dikgosi in the Tonota region were refusing to preside over the case because the woman was feared as she was suspected to be practicing witchcraft.

Kgosi Radipitse explained that the case took the whole day and it was obvious that she was going to be sentenced to prison and when he was about to deliver the sentence, one of the brothers pulled out a gun in an attempt to kill him, but police officers managed to grab it and overpowered him.

He explained that the following day, he ordered the police officers to arrest the duo and they were tried at a higher court, but he did not know whether or not they were convicted.

“I could have died a long time ago, but if it is not your day, you won’t die,” he explained, adding that the incident that could have taken his life was the South African one because the bullet was actually fired.

This is one of the many stories that Kgosi Radipitse shares with his loved ones, but the list of anecdotes  is endless.

Kgosi Radipitse retired from Bakhurutshe chieftaincy in 2016, paving way for his eldest son, Kgosi Bokamoso Radipitse.

He would say that he was not one of those who believed that traditional leaders were expected to ‘die in office’.

“I decided to leave the chieftaincy so that I could see for myself if there are quarrels about who should take over the throne between my sons so that I can provide direction,” he added.

Kgosi Radipitse explained that such beliefs had been overtaken by events, saying when time had come for a kgosi to retire due to old age or health issues, ‘he must let go’.

Born in 1930 in Tonota and being the second child of Kgosi Radipitse Ramosinyi Sekoko in a family of nine, Kgosi Radipitse did not receive formal education.

He grew up at Billie Sehudi’s lands, where he looked after his grandfather’s cattle.

He later left the lands to stay in Francistown before returning to Tonota after his younger brother died of a car accident.

After the funeral of his younger brother, he left Botswana for South African gold mines, where he worked in various provinces.

That is where he met his first white wife.

Though Kgosi Radipitse did not go to school, his decisions when presiding over cases were not easily dismissed by the Customary Court of Appeal.

Quizzed on why he chose his son Bokamoso to be the heir to the throne, he explained that the ‘boy’ is clever and has the qualities of being a leader including integrity, accountability, empathy, humility, resilience, vision, influence, and positivity.

“Leaders are viewed as having control and power because those holding the position before them had control and power,” he added.

However, Kgosi Radipitse is happy that unlike other villages in Botswana, Bakhurutshe have never and will never be embroiled in bogosi conflicts because bogosi has a lineage.

He said with the steps that he took, the chieftainship succession for the Bakhurutshe was now clearly defined and that no other person would ever challenge this lineage.

Kgosi Radipitse explained that Bakhurutshe were among the few tribes in Botswana who had a smooth transition.

Traditional leaders of Kgosi Radipitse’s caliber are rare to find.

He has a sharp mind and rendered excellent service to the people of Tonota and the neighbouring villages.

It is now four years after Kgosi Radipitse retired from active traditional duties.

He began his work as an arbitrator in the early 80s and in 1988 government approached him to consider becoming the village kgosi as his predecessor was not in good health.

There was a lengthy peaceful discussion with stakeholders and a consensus was reached in 1990 that he should be given the chieftaincy.

Kgosi Radipitse traversed the whole of Tonota and surrounding villages trying to solve some bogosi conflicts.

He explained that traditional institutions such as Bogosi played a pivotal role in the promotion of democracy and good governance.

“Bogosi continues to contribute positively to the development of Botswana,” he said.

Asked why he was never a member of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi during his tenure as the Bakhurutshe leader, Kgosi Radipitse explained that though he respectedd the institution, he felt that he had to push a lot of backlog of cases in the region.

He appealed to the people of Tonota to work together to develop their village, saying they should avoid attacking one another for lack of services and developments.

Kgosi Radipitse said residents had an important part to play in the development of their village even though government was the main service provider.

He therefore advised them that developments could  not come to them when they shied away from being part of the decision making process and this could only be achieved if they attended kgotla meetings, where developments were discussed.

Kgosi Radipitse is of the view that self-reliance is still paramount and that it starts with collective thinking and sharing of ideas.

He urged residents to desist from misbehaving because respecting one another was key to developments.

Furthermore, he advised residents to preserve culture and pray for the rains so that they could  plough and be self-reliant. ENDS