Wednesday, July 2

For the afternoon, we had the chance to visit one of the cultural sites in Serowe. The first president of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama is from Serowe and there is a statue as a memorial to him.

We then walked up to the royal cemetery where several generations of Khama are buried.

Botswana History At a Glance The Setswana is the major ethnic group in the region. Serowe is noted because it was the home town and capital of the tribal rulers of the Khama family. In the 19th century as the Boers encroached on Botswana, the area became a British Protectorate called the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Eventually, there was a move toward independence and that process began in earnest in the 1960s. It culminated in adoption of a constitution in 1965 and elections in 1966. Seretse Khama was elected the first president and re-elected twice. He died in office in 1980 and the VP Ketumile Masire became president. He was elected in 1984 and re-elected in 1989 and 1994. Masire retired in 1998. The presidency passed to VP, Festus Mogae, who was elected in turn elected on his own in 1999.