A (; ) is the title for a hereditary leader of a

Batswana The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the pop ...

tribe.

Usage

The word "kgosi" is a Setswana term for "king" or "chief". Various

affix In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...

es can be added to the word to change its meaning: adding the prefix ''di-'' creates the plural form '' dikgosi''; the feminine suffix '' -gadi'' makes the word '' kgosigadi''; and the adjectival suffix '' -kgolo'', meaning "large", creates '' kgosikgolo'', the word for "supreme leader". It is a title often given to

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

s in Botswana and surrounding countries where there are Tswana speaking people. The office of tribal leadership is called the ''bogosi'' while the person who assumes the office is the ''kgosi''.

Duties

The

Bogosi Act The Bogosi Act is a piece of legislation in Botswana that defines the office of ' or " chieftainship" among Botswana's various tribes. The act was written in response to the Balopi Commission recommendation that the Constitution of Botswana rep ...

of 2008 defines the powers of dikgosi. According to the Bogosi Act, the kgosi of a tribe has several duties: to manage the tribe, to organize

kgotla A ''kgotla'' (English pronunciation or ) is a public meeting, community council, or traditional law court of a Botswana village. It is usually headed by the village chief or headman, and community decisions are always arrived at by consensus. ...

meetings, and to follow the rules and advice of the national government and the members of the tribe. The dikgosi of the eight main Batswana tribes automatically become members of the

Ntlo ya Dikgosi The ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'' (Tswana for "House of Chiefs") in Botswana is an advisory body to the country's parliament.Parliament of Botswana The Parliament of Botswana consists of the President and the National Assembly. In contrast to other Parliamentary systems, the Parliament elects the President directly (instead of having both a ceremonial President and a Prime Minister who has ...

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The kgosi has the ability to appoint a ''mothusa kgosi'' who acts as an acting leader while the kgosi is temporarily unable to perform his or her duties. This is different from the ''motshwarelela bogosi'', an office created when the kgosi is permanently unable to perform his or her duties and a replacement kgosi is needed. The act has been criticised by tribal leaders because of the limitations on the powers of a kgosi. In 2010, Kgosi Kgafela II of the Kgatla tribe was accused of flogging, but he argued that dikgosi have immunity to the state's jurisdiction. The Botswana High Court dismissed the case on 11 May 2011, claiming that "dikgosi cannot act outside the Constitution of Botswana, constitution and laws prescribed by Parliament when all other functionaries of the state act within the statutory limitations." To avoid the legal costs of the case, Kgafela moved to

Moruleng Saulspoort (also known as Moruleng) is a village at the northern foot of the Pilanesberg, about 65 km north of Rustenburg. It was named after a former baKgatla chief, Tsheole, called Saul by the early settlers. It was established when Hen ...

, South Africa.

Citations

References

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External links

{{Wiktionary
Traditional Government and Social Order
as explained by the Embassy of Botswana in Japan *https://www.sundaystandard.info/the-kgosi-chronicles-part-one-defining-the-problem/ Positions of authority Titles *