Volume 50 Issue 2 - February 2012 : Heritage

The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) conference in 1966, the year of Independence, was held at the old community centre in Mochudi. If the BDP had held conferences in previous years, its choice of venue would have been severely limited. In 1962 the ANC held its high level conference in Peleng, Lobatse at Fish Keitseng’s house, there being then neither a school nor a church in the area which they could have used.

The BDP was obviously less constrained and would presumably have been able to meet at either of the two teacher training colleges,Lobatse and Serowe, possibly at Kanye’s King George V Memorial Hall -although, for whatever reason, this seems to have been an option which had little appeal - or at Patrick van Rensburg’s Swaneng in Serowe with its giant new hall. In the event, its decision to use the new community centre and small hall in Mochudi was presumably taken for sound tactical reasons because in the general election, the previous

year, Mochudi , Francistown and the North East District had been the only constituencies which had not voted for the BDP in large numbers. The outcome in the latter two constituencies could have been anticipated. In Mochudi it came as a surprise. It would have made much sense, therefore, for the BDP to establish its presence there.

The photos indicate that the conference was attended by about 300 delegates. A few would have been accommodated by friends in Mochudi but the majority slept in the classrooms of the old Molefi Junior Secondary School (now Seingwaeng Primary School) a short walk to the community centre.

I have a vague recollection that part of the conference was held in the hall and I certainly remember that Seretse Khama, the party’s leader who later became the first president of this country- at one stage slipped out of the conference he would have endorsed the decision to hold it there if he had known about the project, about the identity of its backers in London and its objectives – which very much included providing assistance to refugees from South Africa which, to a degree was happening whilst his party conference was in session.

 Presumably, therefore, the decision to hold the conference in the community centre represented a deliberate endorsement of it – but I was unable at the time to read those signals; just as I was unable to interpret Khama’s answer. Was this another example of his famous dead pan sense of humour? But how extraordinarily interesting are the few photos I took of this historic event.

This is the national conference of the party which has enjoyed and that myself and a few others met and talked with him in the kitchen which was adjacent to the hall – he sitting on the only furniture left in the room, the table – the few chairs being utilised by the conference.

This being my opportunity I said that I hoped that he was happy with the development initiatives we were taking with the project at the community centre.  “Glad you asked me that question,” he said, “what exactly are you doing here?”

That reply totally floored me because I had assumed that he would have been fully informed about every aspect of the project where his conference was being held. Indeed I found it hard to imagine that a landslide victory which has taken it to self government and is about to take it, in a few months, to independence. This is a select, not mass gathering. Everyone there is a key party leader either local or national. Many have made great efforts to reach Mochudi for the conference travelling on very rough roads.

All of them would have covered those costs out of their own pockets. There would have been no allowances and presumably the BDP membership in Mochudi would have been responsible for providing all the meals and doing all the cooking.

Looking carefully at those photos one would notice that only a few women attended – and those who are recognisable, apart from Ruth Khama, Seretse Khama’s wife, all come from Mochudi. But then Ruth Khama stands out in all the photos where she is present because she alone wears red. But it is her presence at Khama’s side which is of even greater interest.

At least one famous photo taken during the 1965 elections shows her campaigning, American style, with Seretse Khama. It was hardly surprising, therefore, that she should again be with her husband at this conference.

Even though the party has only recently come through its first election and won such a resounding victory, it would not be possible to claim, from the evidence of these photos, that this was any kind of political party meeting rather than one of, say, farmers or teachers.

There is no party paraphernalia. There are no party vehicles and there is no security presence. The dress is uniformly sober, either black or grey, and hats are the norm. Nothing here indicates that this is the key conference of a party which in a few months time will be running an independent country.

It is extraordinarily low key and there is no evidence here that the foreign press, even South African, was present. Photos do not lie – and these few do demonstrate precisely what the country, and its leadership, was taking on when it opted for Fawcus’ independence. Somewhere, hopefully, there should be a record of Khama’s crucially important speech at this conference even if it is only a summarised report in the Daily News.

*At the time of the conference, Sandy Grant was running the new Community Centre in

Mochudi.

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