30 NOVEMBER 1951, Page 3

Tshekedi in London

Tshekedi Khama has arrived in London for discussions with Lord Ismay, the new Secretary for Commonwealth Affairs. No new arguments can be expected in the troubled dispute over the future of the Bamangwato, but there is reason to hope that a change of Government may produce new judgements. In spite of the complexity of the problem the choice before the Con- servative Government is essentially a simple one: whether to allow both Tshekedi Khama and Seretse Khama (and, of course, his wife) to return to their country, or to enforce their exile for its full term. The other theoretically possible courses of action need hardly be considered (although on these, and all other aspects of the dispute,it would be interesting to know the opinions of -the three-man delegation which visited Bechuanaland— opinions which have not yet been published). It would be most unwise to allow Tshekedi to return alone, even as a private citizen ; it would also be unfair to allow the return of Seretse and his wife and to continue the exile of his uncle, Tshekedi. The main argument for preventing the return of both Khamas is that for the last few months the Bamangwato have remained quiet, but there is a dangerous converse to this argument, which implies that in Africa dissatisfaction can only be truly manifested by violence. The balance of evidence is on the whole in favour of allowing both Khamas to return.