Tshekedi Khama was the regent of the Bamangwato

Bamangwato

The Bamangwato can be said to be one of the eight 'principal' Tswana tribes of Botswana, and just like any other Tswana tribe in Botswana, constitutes a small percent in the central district even in their capital serowe. They ruled over majority Bakalangaand other tribes such as the san,bitwa and...

 tribe in 1923 after the death of Sekgoma II

Sekgoma II

Sekgoma II Sekgoma II Sekgoma II (1869-November 17, 1925 was the king of the Bamangwato people of Bechuanaland in modern-day Botswana.He was the son of King Khama III by his first wife, Elizabeth MmaBessie. In 1923, Sekgoma II ascended the throne at the age of 54 upon the death of his father....

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Background

In 1923, Khama III

Khama III

Khama III , also known as Khama the Good, was the kgosi of the Bamangwato people of Bechuanaland , who made his country a protectorate of the United Kingdom to ensure its survival against Boer and Ndebele encroachments.-Ancestry and Youth:During the 18th century, Malope, chief of the Bakwena...

 died and was succeeded by his son Sekgoma II, who died after serving only two years. The heir to the throne, four-year-old Seretse Khama

Seretse Khama

Sir Seretse Khama, KBE was a statesman from Botswana. Born into one of the more powerful of the royal families of what was then the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home—with a popular but controversial...

, wasn’t ready for the job of ruling the ngwato, so his 21-year-old uncle Tshekedi Khama became regent of his clan on 19th January 1926. Khama had attended the South African Native College at Fort Hare between 1923-1925.

Reign as regent

Resident Commissioner Sir Charles Rey determined that no progress would be forthcoming as long as the people were governed by Tswana chiefs and proclaimed all local government officials answerable to colonial magistrates. So great was the popular opposition – people feared that it would lead to their incorporation into South Africa – that Rey was ousted from his job and his proclamation annulled.

Opposition to Seretse's marriage

After the war Seretse Khama went to study in England where he met and married an Englishwoman, Ruth Williams

Ruth Williams Khama

Ruth Williams Khama, Lady Khama was the wife of Botswana's first president Sir Seretse Khama, the Paramount Chief of its Bamangwato tribe. Lady Khama was a former WAAF ambulance driver from Blackheath, London. She met the then Prince Seretse Khama while he was attending law school in England and...

. Tshekedi Khama was furious at this breach of tribal custom, and the South African authorities, still hoping to absorb Bechuanaland into the Union, were none too happy. The British government blocked Seretse’s chieftaincy and he was exiled from the protectorate to England. Bitterness continued until 1956 when Seretse Khama

Seretse Khama

Sir Seretse Khama, KBE was a statesman from Botswana. Born into one of the more powerful of the royal families of what was then the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home—with a popular but controversial...

 renounced his right to power and returned with his wife to Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

to serve as a minor official.