Sir Seretse Khama was the first President of Botswana. He was born on July 1st, 1921, into a royal family. His family was one of the most powerful royal families in African history.
Sir Seretse Khama became Botswana’s President in 1966 when Botswana gained Independence from Great Britain and led the Country from independence till 1980.
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His Presidency was characterized by rapid economic growth, social integration, and human capacity development
Here are 10 famous quotes of Botswana’s first President, Sir Seretse Khama
1. We should write our history books to prove that we did have a past and that it was just as worth writing and learning about as any others. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation and a people without a past is a people without a soul.
2. Botswana is a poor country and at present is unable to stand on its own feet and develop its recourses without assistance from its friends
3. We are Batswana, we are not desperate beggars.
4. I think that the trouble we now face in the world is caused mainly by the refusal to try and see another man’s point of view, to try and persuade by example — and the refusal to meet a rather passionate desire to impose your own will upon others, either by force or other means.
5. Unity in Botswana, will not be achieved by legislation, but by consultation and consensus. Our national unity will be stronger if it remains based, as it is now, on diversity, mutual tolerance and consensus.
6. We are convinced that there is justification for all the races that have been brought together in this part of Africa, by the circumstances of history, to live together in peace and harmony, for they have no other home but Southern Africa. Here we will have to learn how to share aspirations and hopes as one people, united by a common belief in the unity of the human race. Here rests our past, our present, and, most importantly of all, our future
7. Democracy, like a little plant, does not grow or develop on its own. It must be nursed and nurtured if it is to grow and flourish. It must be believed in and practiced if it is to be appreciated. And it must be fought for and defended if it is to survive.
8. Human dignity, like justice and freedom, is the common heritage of all men. It is indivisible. If these universal truths had been accepted by those who have set themselves the cause of denigration the world would have been saved from the racial animosities and degradations which now threaten the very survival of mankind
9. Human dignity, like justice and freedom, is the common heritage of all men. It is indivisible. If these universal truths had been accepted by those who have set themselves the cause of denigration the world would have been saved from the racial animosities and degradations which now threaten the very survival of mankind.
10. We do not wish to place any artificial obstacles in the way of the initiative and energy of our people. But equally we must avoid divisions based on occupation or inequality of wealth