Tshekedi Khama's Banishment •
Neither the decision the Secretary for Commonwealth Rela- tions has reached .regarding the domicile of Tshekedi Khama, till lately the Ruling Chief of the Bamangwato tribe in Bechuana- land, nor the reasons he has given for it, can be considered satisfactory. Whatever may be said of the exclusion of Seretse Khama and his English wife from Bechuanaland for five years, there is neither logic nor justice in applying the same treatment to his uncle, Tshekedi Khama, against whom no offence of any kind has been charged. While the uncle, who has, in full accordance with tribal law, been acting as Ruling Chief pending his nephew's succession, is avowedly opposed to the idea of a white woman's son (should there be one) becoming Chief in due time, he repudiates any idea of political rivalry with Seretse, with whom he is in fact on good terms, and has in a letter to the Secretary of State disavowed in the most explicit language any claim to the Chieftainship. He is asking two things—that he be allowed to return to his home to look after his extensive ranching interests, and that a commission be appointed to enquire into the whole question of the administration of Bechuanaland. For the second there appears to be considerable ground. As to the former, Mr. Gordon Walker, advised pre- sumably by officials on the spot, is convinced That the mere presence of Tshekedi in Bamangwato territory, even as a private citizen, would lead to faction and disturbance. No facts are adduced to substantiate this assumption; and it seems a flimsy foundation for an act which runs counter to all British ideas of freedom and justice. The whole question must be discussed in Parliament. It calls for serious consideration by men of all parties who, while recognising that freedom must in rare cases be abridged, will countenance no unjust or unnecessary abridgement
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