KGOSI SEBEGO -THE HARD-HEARTED CROCODILE by JEFF RAMSAY 1 (original) (raw)

From 1824 to 1844 Sebego I was the Motswaraledi-Kgosi or Regent of the main faction of the Bangwaketse morafe (plural merafe – Tswana polity or tribe). His two-decade reign coincided with the period of violent region-wide conflicts that are commonly, albeit controversially, referred to as the Mfecane or Difaqane era of Southern African history. During this time of tumult, Sebego distinguished himself as a military leader. At the beginning of his reign, he mobilized an army of over 4000 to expel Sebetwane’s Makololo horde from southern Botswana. Subsequently, he waged a prolonged war of resistance against Mzilikazi’s Amandebele, whom he defeated at Dutlwe. Thereafter, he advanced into western Botswana, in the process driving the Ovaherero and Moruakgomo’s Bakwena out of the area, while ruthlessly subjugating local communities. When he visited him in 1843, the missionary David Livingstone considered Sebego to be the region’s preeminent ruler. For his documented military exploits alone, Sebego deserves to be remembered among the pantheon of Southern Africa's notable early 19th-century warrior kings, alongside such peers as Mzilikazi, Sebetwane, Soshangane, and Tshaka. Yet in his homeland of Botswana, he has become a largely forgotten figure

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