05 Feb 2020

The village of Lesoso, as Shoshong is fondly known by its inhabitants and even beyond its bounderies, is nestled in the grandiose mountainous range of Shoshong Hills to the west of Mahalapye village.

Many came to know of this place after the exploits of the likes of Kgosi Sekgoma I and his son Khama the Great.

Old Shoshong was established by the Bangwato in the 19th century during the reign of Kgosi Sekgoma I.

The area later on developed into a prominent trading town along the road to the north during the reign of his son, Khama III.

In 1880, Old Shoshong was a large prosperous trading town boasting European nationals’ trading stores and many specialised services.

Different tribal groupings among them the Bakaa, Baphaleng, Batalaote and Basarwa sought refuge in Old Shoshong during the Matebele wars.

Kgosi Sekgoma I established the Bangwato tribe on the site of modern Shoshong in 1850.

According to Notes of the History of the Kaa by renowned historian Isaac Schapera, Sekgoma attacked and incorporated other tribes such as Babirwa and Balete, joining the Baphaleng, Batalaote and others.

Another notable record about Shoshong is the construction of the London Mission Society (LMS) church at Old Shoshong.

In 1869, same year as the birth of Kgosi Sekgoma II, Sir Seretse Khama’s father, Mackenzie went to UK and while there he tried to use his influence as a missionary to protect Bechuanaland against Boer incursions.

On his return, Mackenzie was accompanied by a new missionary, James Hepburn, who was based in Shoshong.

Hepburn left in 1891 to England where he later passed on.  

In a personal historical account of the village of Shoshong, historian Jacob Knight noted that the Old Shoshong was abandoned in 1889 due to environmental factors such as degradation of the area, depletion of pastures, poor hygiene and shortage of water.

According to Knight, Kgosi Khama III then moved his capital to Old Palapye.

After Khama III and his council moved to Old Palapye, London Missionary Society reopened the mission station in Shoshong in 1901.

A year later Khama made a decision to move from Old Palapye to present day Serowe.

The remaining Bakaa in Palapye retraced their steps back to Shoshong.

In 1911 a trader known locally as RA Bailey and his employee Thomas Shaw built a store in Shoshong, which is still visible today.

One of the prominent founding fathers of present day politics Goareng Mosinyi was born in 1915 in Shoshong.

He was a member of the Bakaa and the Bangwato royal families.

As a child, Sir Seretse Khama is said to have spent years with Goareng at Tiger Kloof, where the latter schooled.  

Goareng supported Seretse in marrying a white English woman while many including the royal uncles were against the decision.

In 1961, Seretse, together with Goareng and several others founded the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has been in power since the first pre-independence election.

Bangwato regent Sediegeng Kgamane, the son of Setohile, who was installed in 1953 until his death in 1970, announced that he was returning the overall chieftainship to the

Kgamane royal family and installed the incumbent Kgosi Felix Kgamane in 2012.

This caused discontent among the Baphaleng and the Bakaa.

A visit to the village of Shoshong today is a stark contrast to this once flourishing trading centre and the first ever Bangwato capital.

It is now regarded as a sleepy village despite its importance in the historical account of Botswana and to a large extent the royal history of Bangwato as a tribe.

It is important to note though that the people living here originate from a mix of historical tribes.

Shoshong Hills attracted human settlement since prehistoric times such as hunter gatherers and farming groups in this area before the arrival of Baphaleng, Bakaa and Bangwato during the 17th and 18th century.

It is likely that the people had been living in Shoshong Hills for over a million years.

Recent study has indicated that the cradle of mankind is located somewhere in the Makgadikgadi pans.

In a ground breaking study, researchers have argued that Southern Africa is home to contemporary populations that represent the earliest branch of human genetic phylogeny.

The study focused on contemporary Southern Africans and shows the geographical isolation of Khoe San descendants south of the Zambezi River.

In seeking a more specific location of the homeland for all modern humans, the study has narrowed in on northern Botswana.

A large lake called Makgadikgadi occupied an area to the north of present day Shoshong until geographical changes diverted the rivers that  fed it and it eventually dried into stages thousands of years ago, leaving the smallest pans visible today. ENDS