I
then found I had failed to bring the unlimited card but the email was accepted
so I could experience the film A United Kingdom
at the Cineworld Docklands on Sunday 27th November 2016, and which
merits some reporting and attention as part of the story of political awareness
and engagement. I only have a vague memory of the fuss at the time of the
impact of the African tribal leader from Botswana, Seretse Kharma marrying a white
young woman or that the play and film “Guess who is coming to dinner?” was
loosely based on their story together.
There has been a book called Colour Bar by Susan Williams and on which
the present film A United Kingdom is
said to be based with David Oyelowo as Seretse and Rosamund Pike as his wife
The film accurately covers the important
aspects of how they met and their life together, but there are also significant
differences in terms of the political events although again the overall story
of why the Atlee and Churchill post war government accepted South African
Apartheid and Churchill lied to voters reneging
on what he had said is accurate.
Seretse
Kharma was born in 1921 and died at the age of 59. He was the grandson of King
of Botswana a large country the size of France but then one of the poorest and
least populated with now some 2 million people with France 66 million and the
subject to direct rule as a British Protectorate on the borders with South
Africa who coveted the potential of its Mineral wealth which fortunately was
vested in the indigenous people. Where
Seretse was aged 4 his father died so he was to inherit the title with his uncle
appointed Regent. Seretse obtained a degree in South Africa, spent a year as an
undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford and then trained to become a Barrister
in London.
He
met his future wife at a dance arranged by a mission at which she was taken by
her sister and although there was no immediate connection on dancing together a
common interest in Jazz was discovered. The film portrays his future wife as”
forward” in her interest for the time in question and gives the impression of a
quick relationship leading to an engagement but in fact they courted for a
period of a year, with opposition from her father who had served as an army
officer in India and then worked in the tea trade and by his uncle primarily
over race but she was also considered inferior in terms of social status. Following
the request to return home he formally proposed marriage which was accepted in
the knowledge that this would breaking with her family and moving to his
homeland. There was immediate intervention by the British Colonial Office on
learning news and the given the fascist racialist direction of South Africa and
with the UK in significant debt because of the World War II there was fear
South Africa would declare independence with the loss of cheap gold and uranium
needed for Nuclear weapon development. Every obstacle and pressure was put on
the marriage which went ahead as a civil ceremony.
Not
knowing the extent to which the two sisters cooperated with the writer of the
book it is unclear how much some of the
information provided is accurate but I am inclined to accept that opposition
came from the Regent who attempted to steer the elders against Seretse becoming
king and his wife the Tribal Queen and because of his status he would not only
be allowed to attend functions restricted to the White community but with her entitlement the mixed marriage
would be continuously and openly evident.
Fortunately,
in an interesting connection with democracy in in Greek city states, major
decision affecting the tribal state were taken by all the men with the women,
apparently, also in attendance and he could convince them that he would be a
good king and leader but only with his wife alongside him. They agree but this
was unacceptable to the British and they attempt a move which would bring the
couple back to London, where it appears the plan was to offer him the position
of Ambassador to Jamaica, preventing him returning to his homeland for a period
of five years. Suspecting this was the intention Ruth remained on her own,
although pregnant, and had difficulty in finding her feet on her own especially
with her husband’s sister and the woman who had married in Regent who by this
time had departed with his people to establish a separate community.
The
government had established an “independent” commission to examine the position
and the respective suitability of the couple and the findings of the report
were suppressed for 30 years as it recommended in their favour. It is
established that marooned in London without his wife and subsequently his wife
and daughter Seretse has the support of Tony Benn, then the young back bench
member of Labour Member of the House of Commons during the Atlee government who
along with Fener Brockway took up the cause and brought a commitment from Tory
opposition leader Winston Church to end the five-year exile. Ruth also made an
influential appeal broadcast in the newsreel shown in cinemas between the two
film performances, the only way in which the public could view news other than
photographs in newspapers and magazine such as the popular Picture Post.
When
Churchill was elected into power he reneged on the election promise and imposed
a life ban citing the report and continuing opposition from the former Regent.
The film reveals that in addition to concerns about the position of the South
Africa Government the main reason the British Government wanted to impose
direct rule is the prospect of valuable mineral being found in area which
covered both countries. However, it was possible to established that under the
original contract which formed the protectorate the indigenous people retained
the mining rights and this would provide crucial in the deal which was
subsequently agreed and in which Seretse gave up the controversial issue of
Kingship proposing a more democratic and eventually independent state. The couple then lived in Bechuanaland in
Botswana for the rest of their live having three more children.
On
return in 1956 as private citizens
and unsuccessfully attempting to become
a cattle farmer he commenced an involvement in politics with election to the
Tribal Council in 1957 forming the Bechuanaland Democratic Party in 1961,
having great success in the national elections in 1965 which swept aside the
socialists and pan African rivals he became Prime Minister of the territory and
commenced to pressed for independence from his base in the newly established
capital city of Gaborone In 1966 The
third poorest nation in the world became independent and Seretse became the
first President, winning subsequent elections until he died in office in 1980,
becoming the finest growing economy in the world with the discovering of
Diamonds using the revues to invest in education, in health care and creating a
infra structure as well as developing
other sources for economic wealth and
advancement, a crucial matter for countries
whose development has been other
time limited resources such as oil, gas
and other valuable minerals. He was responsible for a lucrative trade deal with the European
Economic Community. The formal break with
the Apartheid South Africa occurred in 1976 when a new currency was created to
replace the Rand.
Ruth
against expectations remained in Botswana after the death of her husband and
was joined for the rest her life by her sister. One of her sons became
president of Botswana in 2008 something she did not live to see. Overall the country
has moved from one of the poorest to one of the richest in Africa although
there is racism between tribes and HIV/Aids was rife although government action
has started to change the position, the level of corruption and wealth creation
by politicians is unknown or the extent to which here are deal with outside interests
which work against the interests of most the people.
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