This paper discusses the deployment of punishment for purposes of upholding the authority of the State and racially-based socio-political hierarchies in colonial Botswana. It focuses on the use of punishment in the political subordination of the dikgosi (chiefs or traditional leaders). Under colonial rule the dikgosi constituted the second tier of authority immediately below senior colonial administration officials. Since the former were the supreme leaders of their communities, the authority of the State was mediated through them. Because traditional authorities were such an important link between the State and the local populace, colonial administrators considered it critical to keep the dikgosi on a tight leash especially in regard to matters that they believed affected the authority of the State. Accordingly, the colonial government dealt swiftly and harshly with any recalcitrant traditional leader because it apparently believed in the symbolic value of demonstrating to the subject population the folly of defying State authority. The dikgosi faced different types of punishment such as detention, deposition and banishment for a wide range of infractions including refusal to carry out 'lawful orders and instructions'. It is instructive that in cases involving chiefs ordinary standards of justice associated with liberal legality were rarely, if at all, observed. The present paper uses the cases of Sekgoma Letsholathebe and Tshekedi Khama of the Batawana and the Bangwato respectively to illustrate the role of punishment in the maintenance of the colonial socio-politica

Projects

Currently no objects available

Currently no objects available