The Tribal Conciliar Experiment and Marginalisation of Local Public Opinion in Botswana, 1948–1957

ABSTRACT Indirect colonial rule in Botswana differed from practice elsewhere in British Africa because of the involvement of local public opinion expressed through the long-practiced kgotla forum. This had something to do with the ‘voluntary’ way Botswana fell under British colonial rule in 1885. However, problems sometimes arose, with aggressive agitation against and even violent confrontation with agents of the British colonial system. Starting in 1947 the British had plans for decolonising much of their African empire by introducing ‘democratic’ tribal conciliar systems for running local governments. But there were no immediate plans to do the same for Botswana until widespread turmoil, starting in the late 1940s, led to the introduction of the tribal conciliar system, even though the Tswana dikgosi (chiefs) wanted a more powerful legislative apparatus. Using archival sources this paper demonstrates how this development marginalised popular participation through the open kgotla.