Batswana in South Africa

Following a split from the East African Bantu and migrating south toward the borders of the Kalahari, the Sotho-Tswana people broke away from other subdivisions of indigenous Bantu-speaking groups around the 15^th century. There are three major groups among the Sotho-Tswana people; the Bapedi (Northern Sotho), the Batswana (Western Sotho), and the Basotho (Southern Sotho), who are most closely associated with the Sotho language. While their historical and social ties link them to the same ethnic family, each of these groups have linguistic and cultural distinctions. There are eight major Tswana tribes descended from three kings of Batswana, namely; Kwena, Ngwaketse and Ngwato. The kings’ roles and status were solidified around the Mfecane upheaval of the early 19^th century. The tribes include Bakwena, Balete, Bangwato, BaNgwaketse, Barolong, Bataung, Batlhaping, Batlôkwa and Bafokeng. Vast numbers of members of each tribe are found in South Africa, as well as in the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Lesotho and eSwatini.

Batswana people’s political, social and economic structures changed significantly after encountering European traders, missionaries, and later, colonial administration. By the late 19^th century, European interest in the region increased due to the discovery of diamonds. This resulted in Batswana territories being annexed and colonized. In 1885, the British established the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The area was composed partly of modern-day Botswana and South Africa’s North West Province.

Developments in the 20th Century

The struggles against colonialism and later apartheid involved many indigenous people, with the Batswana playing a significant role. Policies of the apartheid government greatly affected Batswana people as many were displaced and their land appropriated. Batswana leaders emerged and formed part of the African National Congress (ANC), and later the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and the Black Consciousness movement among other revolutionary movements.

Policies enforced between the 1950s and 1960s included the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act and the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 in South Africa. These were aimed at establishing homelands, which were racially and ethnically segregated communities for the country’s indigenous people. Homelands are directly linked to much of the ethnic divisions and tensions in contemporary South African politics. Batswana people were assigned to what was declared an independent state known as Bophutatswana.

The Bophutatswana state, although not internationally recognized, was established in 1977 by the apartheid government. The apartheid laws under which it was governed entailed significant racial segregation and discrimination wherein the rights of non-white people were denied. The state was dependent on the South African government’s subsidies and revenues from industries such as mining, particularly from platinum mining in the city of Rustenburg. Additionally, socio-economic issues such as different levels of access to healthcare and education, along with high rates of unemployment detrimentally affected many Batswana citizens.

The Post-1994 Era

Batswana people gained full citizenship in 1994, the year that apartheid officially ended. Bophutatswana was the last homeland to be reintegrated into a democratic South Africa, whereupon its territory was divided into the provinces known today as the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West Province. The political transition from part of the Bophutatswana homeland to what is today known as the North West Province involved much tumult. The leader of Bophutatswana, Lucas Mangope, attempted to turn the region into an independent state. In 1994, these efforts included an alliance with the Afrikaner Weerstand Beweging (AWB) to control the emergence of rioting amidst the ongoing national shift toward a new national democracy.

Political Representation of Batswana People in Elections

Lucas Mangope’s United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) launched a campaign in 1994 directed toward garnering support as a party concerned with Batswana people’s interests, particularly in the North West Province. The party argued that the Xhosa-led ANC deteriorated conditions in the province, and as such, under Tswana leadership, conditions would improve. In the provincial capital of Mafikeng, the UCDP won close to 50% of the vote. This level of regional success can be accounted for by the findings of the the Skweyiya Commission on pre-94 operations under Mangope. The commission discovered that in 1994, the director general of the Information Service of Bophuthatswana, Jerry Reid, signed a 6 million rand contract with the South African company, Q Projects, whose work was slanted toward building support and garnering votes for the Bophutatswana Christian Democratic Party (BCDP), which would later evolve into the UCDP as a result of Bophutatswana state’s dissolution.

In national and provincial elections, however, the UCDP has decreased from 0.4% to 0.2% of national and local elections from the 1994 to 2024 elections. Other forms of Tswana representation include several significant politicians who have played key roles in government. Among these are Mmusi Maimane, Kgalema Motlanthe and Naledi Pandor. Mmusi Maimane, as the former leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) from 10 May 2015 to 23 October 2019, was also the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa from 29 May 2014 to 24 October 2019. Another MoTswana leader is Kgalema Motlanthe, a member of the African National Congress (ANC), who held the position of President of South Africa from 2008 to 2009. Motlanthe is revered for his promotion of stability and reconciliation during his tenure. Naledi Pandor’s political trajectory as an ANC member involves various leadership positions in ministries like Education, Science and Technology, and International Relations and Cooperation. Her influence is thus in areas such as in education, science, and foreign affairs.

The Complexities of Land Expropriation

In today’s South Africa, the Batswana people continue to navigate challenges and maintain certain successes of the post-apartheid era. Critical issues among their communities include education, economic development, and land restitution. The Land Expropriation Bill (B32-2020) is a bill focused on expropriating land to address public interests and meeting public purposes. Authorities that are vetted to expropriate land are any person, or organ of state that is empowered by this Act or any other legislation to acquire property through expropriation. For indigenous people who were mobile over short and long periods of time like the Batswana, however, evaluating the validity and appropriateness of land claims is complexified. Historical conflicts and ongoing possession and dispossession of property and land between and among Batswana, AmaNdebele and the Afrikaaners, specifically in the North West and Limpopo regions, further complicates the bill’s implementation. As such, examining pre-colonial history in land redistribution efforts also involves a balancing of social justice imperatives, historical context, constitutional rights and economic considerations. The approach to determining land ownership rights in South Africa is thus nuanced and evolving both in its legality and policy frameworks.

The Impact of Diamond Mining on the Batswana People

Mining, specifically diamond mining, has had profoundly pernicious effects on Batswana people. These range from health crises, to forced and underpaid labour and slavery. In the duration of the Southern African region’s colonial history, diamond mining industries used coercive labour practices like forced recruitment in unsafe working conditions to exploit Batswana communities. As a result, many Batswana minors became infected with silicosis and tuberculosis while communities experienced severe economic inequality and social disorganization. The legacy of this period persists and contributes to ongoing socio-economic struggles both in South Africa and Botswana. The Tshiamiso Trust is an organisation that manages claims by current and former mineworkers who are eligible to be compensated after contracting TB or silicosis between 12 March 1965 and 10 December 2019. So far, the Trust has paid out over R1.5 billion to claimants.

Indigenous Tswana Practices and Climate Change

A significant challenge for Batswana people is the climate crisis. Drought, loss of biodiversity and water scarcity threaten long-standing Tswana livelihoods, which rely on livestock and agriculture. Mitigation of climate change among Batswana includes various activities such as harvesting rainwater, sustainable plant and animal farming methods of crop rotation and intercropping, and rotational grazing. Through these practices, communities can resiliently survive droughts, conserve biodiversity and improve soil fertility. These indigenous practices can be incorporated as strategies for climate adaptation that sustain community while supporting sustainable and environmentally responsible development.

Traditional leadership is an important aspect of Batswana society to this day. Chiefs (known as di Kgosi) play essential roles in local governance, particularly in rural areas. The strengthening and inclusion of local chiefs, traditional spiritual and faith leaders, is thus an important aspect of inclusion and participation of BaTswana people in governance, policy and self-determination, especially in national adaptation policies and strategies seeking to address the climate crisis.

The Batswana people also make significant contributions to South Africa’s cultural landscape, and in the arts which include drama, music, dance, and traditional crafts. Setswana literature and oral traditions are celebrated, and efforts to preserve and promote the Setswana language and culture are ongoing.