Seretse Khama

Seretse Khama (July 1, 1921 - July 13, 1980) was the first President of Botswana. He is internationally remembered for bringing peace and prosperity to the formative years of his nation.

Marriage and exile

In June of 1947, Seretse Khama met Ruth Williams, an English clerk at Lloyd's of London, and after a year of courtship, married her. The interracial marriage sparked immediate furor among both the apartheid government of South Africa and the tribal elders of the Bama-Ngwato. On being informed of the marriage, Seretse?s uncle Tshekedi Khama demanded his return to Bechuanaland and the annulment of the marriage. However, Seretse returned to Serowe and after a series of public meetings, was re-affirmed by the elders in his role as the Kgosi. Ruth Williams Khama, traveling with her new husband, proved similarly popular. Admitting defeat, Tshekedi Khama left Bechuanaland, while Seretse Khama returned to London to complete his studies.

Related Topics:
Ruth Williams - Lloyd's of London - Apartheid

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However, the international ramifications of his marriage would not be so easily resolved. Having banned interracial marriage under the apartheid system, South Africa could not afford to have an interracial couple ruling just across their northern border. As Bechuanaland was then a British protectorate, the South African government immediately exerted pressure to have Seretse Khama removed from his chieftainship. Britain?s Labour government, then heavily in debt from World War II, could not afford to lose cheap South African gold and uranium supplies, and launched a parliamentary investigation into Seretse Khama?s fitness for the chieftainship. Though the investigation reported that he was in fact eminently fit for the rule of Bechuanaland, the government ordered the report suppressed (it would remain so for thirty years), and exiled Seretse Khama and his wife from Bechuanaland in 1951. In 1952, a Conservative government declared the exile permanent.

Related Topics:
Interracial marriage - Labour - World War II - Gold - Uranium - Parliamentary - Conservative

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