05 Feb 2020

Immersed in a chilly summer breeze one Friday morning, a horde of jolly young men gather in a paddock near the main kgotla slaughtering a cow. In hurried gallantry, they hail Kgosi Sarefo Mambeko with a wave and he responds amiably.

Seating in his blue and white office, the bubbly Kgosi Mambeko is looking forward to the interview. Guiding him with the antiquity is the village historian, 73 year-old Mr Witson Karombe.

“We hail from Central Africa, precisely in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the 1930s, we travelled all the way by foot and we passed cities such as Nairobi in Kenya and Harare in Rhodesia and finally camped in Mbunda, Namibia,” says Mr Karombe.

Their arrival in Mbundu was by sheer luck intermingled with fate. He narrates that there was a hunter by the name Kangombe, who followed an elephant and shot it but the elephant dragged itself and fell unto the mighty Kavango River.

Kangombe says the hunter discovered that there is a colossal flow of water in that newly discovered river, and in haste, Kangombe stowed some water in a gourd, cut out the water lily leaf and a water reed as a testimony to show to the others.

After narrating his story unruffled, Kgosi Debebe gave out a word that the elders should go ahead and see if indeed there was water on the other side.

To their astonishment, they found the river flowing and intact. Kangombe further explains that Kgosi Dibebe immediately instructed his people to relocate to Handara, Namibia to access drinking water.

However, he says some remained behind in Mbunda since they were already attached to the place but they were not aware that Handara, the new place, was truly the land of milk and honey.

Plenty of wild fruits and water to drink were generously in abundance. Nonetheless, he says in the late 1930s, Kgosi Dibebe requested aid from Kgosi Nyangana of Handara, asking to be given Wato in Sehambukushu, or canoes to cross over to the nearby Bechuanaland, as Botswana was known then.

The reason for their crossing over to Bechuanaland was to settle and pursue their own identity.

Kgosi Nyangana approved and the clan prepared their Wato and sailed to Bechuanaland.

In their arrival, he notes, the clan dispersed to various areas in the Okavango including Tsodilo, Seronga, Gunotsoga, and finally Ikoga to name a few.

Kgosi Mambeko chips in and explains that in their arrival, they settled in a place called Lediba la Ikoga, Ikoga being a Sesarwa expression.

Soon after, just by Lediba la Ikoga, they discovered a shop owned by one English trader named William Banks.

“Mr Banks sold various necessities that the villagers usually bought from Maun before the shop came their way including; a tub of sugar, blankets and clothes.  I can reminisce that he reintroduced us to trending fashion styles like bell-bottoms. The memory of it all refreshes my mind,” he says.

Kgosi Mambeko explains that after they settled in Ikoga, tragedy struck. Heavy rains flooded the village and if his memory serves him well, it was during Kgosi Baaname’s reign in the year 1954.

He highlights that thereafter, William Banks made a conscious decision to relocate his shop to Sepopa, just where Sepopa Primary School is in present day.

That is when the villagers followed. The village was divided into two ethnic groups with Bayei staying on the other side of the river while Ba Hambukushu stayed on another side.

Proudly, Kgosi Mambeko explains that the remains of William Banks shop are still evident even today. The bricks that were used to build that shop are still apparent.

Like Moses leading the children of Israel out of exile, Kgosi Mambeko explains, Kgosi Mboma Matuka led his people back to Ikoga and it was recognized as a village in 1971.

Kgosi Mambeko enthuses that Ikoga was a haven of traditional wild fruits like mokhuchomo and mokgomphatha, hence making their stay much enjoyable.

Another apt archivist, an 85 year-old Yarubi Ngande Monjwa recites that life in the olden days was nothing but bliss.

With fine lines appearing across her face showing the years gone by, certainly wisdom is abundant in her grey head.

“We relished on delicacies like nxoko, magapu, mbabu, thonga and overflow of water.

 The children were constantly running around, playing traditional games and singing, a sign of contentment with full stomachs,” she says.

Kgosi Mambeko chips in and notes that developments started trickling down in their village in 1982, when Ikoga Primary School was built and this was during Kgosi Zamo Marotsi’s reign.

He says the clinic followed in 1986, then the main Kgotla. Internal roads passing through the village were also constructed. After Kgosi Marotsi died in 2007, Kgosi Mambeko assumed the reigns in August 2008.

“The present-day state of Ikoga shows it is slowly but surely developing. Electricity and running water are a clear indication that indeed our village is refined,’’ he says in conclusion. ENDS