Who Was Sir Seretse Khama?

When writers from various disciplines write about Sir Seretse Khama, one dominant narrative is that he was an intelligent and visionary leader with a wicked sense of humour. Despite this considerable appraisal surrounding him—which includes a 2016 immortalization of his life by David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike on the big screen—there appears to be broad consensus that Khama’s role in Botswana’s road to independence is a history unheralded, especially in relation to that of other farsighted and charismatic post-independence African leaders and revolutionaries. On one hand, his name seldom rings a bell intercontinentally; his relative obscurity is rather puzzling considering his economic and socio-political strides in post-independence Botswana. On the other hand, his legacy is celebrated in his home country of Botswana, particularly as Botswana is the longest-running multi-party democracy in Africa, with a relatively low level of corruption.