Khama III

Who is Khama III?

Khama III, known to missionaries as Khama the Good and remembered by many Batswana as Khama the Great, was Kgosi (paramount chief) of the Bangwato, the largest of the Tswana chiefdoms, ruling for several decades until his death in 1923. Converted to Christianity as a young man and baptised in 1860, he banned the sale of alcohol in his territory and worked closely with missionaries while also defending Bangwato independence against both Ndebele raiders to the north and Boer expansion from the south. His most consequential act came in 1895, when he travelled to London together with fellow chiefs Bathoen I and Sebele I to petition the British government directly, seeking to keep Bechuanaland under the protection of the Crown rather than see it absorbed into Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, which was then carving up the region into what became Rhodesia. The mission, amplified by missionary networks and public meetings across Britain, succeeded: Bechuanaland remained a separate Crown protectorate rather than becoming company territory, a decision historians credit with keeping the future Botswana on a distinct political path from its neighbours. Khama III's grandson, Seretse Khama, later became independent Botswana's first President.

Sources: Khama III, Britannica — Botswana Ruler, Protector & Reformer · Khama III, Wikipedia (cross-checked against Encyclopaedia Africana) · "This is why Khama III... was known as the good king", Face2Face Africa