Volume 6, Issue 3

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Kgafela: Looking Forward and Back

Justice Unity Dow and Kgosi Kgafela at the bojale initiation ceremony. Photo by Dr. Karl J. Stahl

To carry out innovative HIV/AIDS prevention work in Mochudi, strong local leadership is needed. That leadership is provided by the young Kgosi Kgolo Kgafela, leader of the Bakgatla tribe. As kgosi, the hereditary king of a tribe, Kgafela is responsible for providing leadership for his people, as well as maintaining law and order. He presides over the kgotla, the assembly where visitors are received, tribal issues are discussed, and disputes are aired.

Kgafela was born in Washington, DC in 1971 when his father, Kgosi Linchwe II, was Botswana’s Ambassador to the U.S. In 1982 Kgafela participated in bogwera, the traditional boys’ initiation ceremony, which marks the passage from childhood into manhood. He earned a law degree from the University of Botswana and has been a litigation attorney for 12 years. An advocate for human rights, Kgafela has worked on a number of high-profile death penalty cases.

After his father’s death, Kgafela was coronated in an elaborate ceremony in September 2008. This included his being draped in a leopard skin by chiefs from two other tribes, one of whom was Botswana’s President Ian Khama, who leads the neighboring Bangwato tribe.

A creative leader, Kgafela has re-energized the Bakgatla people by introducing new business and cultural initiatives and, at the same time, reinstating traditional practices. He is a man who feels equally at ease wearing a business suit or the ceremonial dress of a chief.

This June he revived bojale, the girls’ initiation ceremony, which had not been practiced since 1989. The ceremony stresses the collective responsibility of the community, including social, economic and political duties. “These values are as valid today as they were a hundred years ago,” said Kgafela. “They are eternal for the common good. For the modern woman, these values have never been more urgent.”(1) Over a thousand women took part in the ceremony. Although girls are traditionally initiated in their teens, this year’s group contained women of all ages eager to take part in a rite of passage they had missed in their own youth. The group included grandmothers, Kgafela’s own wife, and Unity Dow, the first female Justice on Botswana’s high court.

Kgafela also revived bogwera, the boys’ initiation ceremony. Like bojale, the last bogwera took place in 1989. This year’s ceremony attracted more than 1,800 participants, among them CEOs and university professors. Though the younger boys were encouraged to undergo circumcision, a traditional part of bogwera, at the local hospital, Kgosi Kgafela emphasized that it was not mandatory.

Consistent with his passion for social justice, Kgafela is outspoken about AIDS. He clearly sees the toll that the epidemic has taken on his community. He is an advocate for holistic and complementary approaches to the AIDS problem, an approach that encourages information sharing and examining alternate views. Addressing a church gathering this August, he remarked, “In this month of prayer against AIDS, I urge you to pray for three things: the power of love, reverence/respect for one another, and above all the quest for knowledge."(2)

Innovative science and strong local leadership are two essential components of a successful HIV prevention program. The Mochudi Project would not be possible without the support of Kgosi Kgafela.

(1) Mmegi, 5/29/09, “Bakgatla Women Go on Bojale Tomorrow”
(2) Mmegi, 9/4/09, “Botswana: AIDS is a Devil’s Weapon–Kgosi Kgafela”