Christian John Makgala
Biographic Data
| ID | 1014606 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christian John Makgala |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christian John |
| FAMILY NAME | Makgala |
| SIGNATURE | MAKGALA C J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Botswana |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5984-5153 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 35 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 33 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 35 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
A Survey of Women in Botswana History: Individual Pioneers, Institutions and Advocacy Movements From the Pre‐Colonial Period to 2024
Women have played a critical role in Botswana's development since precolonial times. However, patriarchal socio‐political systems have limited their contributions to the country's rapid economic growth in the post‐colony. This paper discusses women's contributions in areas such as public office, missionary service, education, politics, women's rights, community service, media, beauty pageantry, athletics, and entrepreneurship. It also highlights …
Shooting from the Hip: The critical discourse analysis of Setswana language spoken by ‘deculturalised’ presidents Ian Khama and Mokgweetsi Masisi Botswana
Former President of Botswana, Ian Khama (2008-2018), and his chosen successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi (2018- 2024), are said to be poor in the Setswana language and culture, owing to their perceived “deculturalisation”. To analyse these assumptions, the article employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its contextual framework. CDA uses a three- dimensional approach to discourse: as text, discursive practice, and social practice. These are influenc…
Botswana election dynamics and presage for future government and governance
Queen Elizabeth II, Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton’s State Visits to Botswana, 1979–1998: High-Profile Public Diplomacy in a Small African State
The dynamics of Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba’s 2015 campaign for the Commonwealth’s secretary-generalship
Whereas scholarship has not focused on Botswana-Commonwealth relations, at least two Batswana have served in top leadership positions of the Commonwealth. Botswana's Foreign Affairs minister, General Mompati Merafhe (1994–2008), became the longest serving chairperson of Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG). Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba served two-terms as Deputy Secretary-General from 2008 to 2014. She went on to contest the Secretary-General …
International spotlight on Botswana and local public opinion: Race factor in the murder trials of Ompatile Tswaipe, Clement Gofhamodimo and Mariette Bosch, 1978–2001
This historical paper engages in a form of discourse analysis of international media reports on three murder trials in Botswana which involved a white person(s) as a victim or perpetrator. First, is the trial of Botswana Defence Force soldier, Sergeant Ompatile Tswaipe, after allegedly ordering his platoon to shoot three suspected white insurgents in the Tuli Block in 1978. Outrage and pressure from apartheid South African and British media and o…
Challenges of constitutional reform, economic transformation and Covid-19 in Botswana
Botswana’s much-lauded economic boom was accompanied by a disproportionately powerful presidency, poverty, significant economic inequities, elite corruption and rising unemployment. Mokgweetsi Masisi succeeded Ian Khama as president of the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in 2018. He won the 2019 election on a platform of constitutional reform and economic transformation, but the rift between Masisi and Khama appeared to dissuade Masis…
Botswana-Bophuthatswana relations in the context of Lucas Mangope’s quest for international diplomatic recognition, 1977-1994
This article is an account of the relations between independent Botswana and her South African Black homeland neighbour of Bophuthatswana, whom Botswana steadfastly refused to recognise as a sovereign state. Bophuthatswana was used by South Africa to punish Botswana for assisting liberation movement groups such as the African National Congress (ANC) in their struggle against apartheid. Lucas Mangope, president of Bophuthatswana, tried to pressuri…
The Tribal Conciliar Experiment and Marginalisation of Local Public Opinion in Botswana, 1948–1957
Indirect colonial rule in Botswana differed from practice elsewhere in British Africa because of the involvement of local public opinion expressed through the long-practiced kgotla forum. This had something to do with the ‘voluntary’ way Botswana fell under British colonial rule in 1885. However, problems sometimes arose, with aggressive agitation against and even violent confrontation with agents of the British colonial system. Starting in 1947 …
The Discourse of Tribalism in Botswana’s 2019 General Elections
Botswana's much touted peaceful Presidential succession experienced uncertainty after the transition on 1 April 2019 as a result of former President Ian Khama's public fallout with his 'handpicked' successor, President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Khama spearheaded a robust campaign to dislodge Masisi and the long-time ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. He actively assisted in the formation of a new political party, the Botswana Patriotic F…
Intrusion into Rural Tribal Space in Botswana: The Case of the Trans-Kalahari Motor Race, 1975-1981
In line with the international sports boycott of apartheid, by the mid 1970s Botswana was not allowing black South African football teams to compete in Botswana, despite their immense popularity and influence in the country. Ironically, in 1975, the government agreed to host an exclusively white motor sport dominated by South Africans. This article argues that the government of Botswana succumbed to claims by the South African organisers of the r…
Popular Participation in the Provision of Higher Education and Restoration of Historical Heritage: The Case of the University of Botswana Logo, 1976–2014
In the first decade of the twenty-first century the University of Botswana (UB) branded itself among other things by changing its original and historical logo in response to severe competition for students. The logo had been made in 1983 by members of public and reflected sacrifices the population had made through contributions of cows for construction of the university in 1976. The new logo, which UB introduced in 2008, had features of the old o…
Elite interests and political participation in Botswana, 1966–2014
Botswana’s tiny economy is overwhelmingly government-driven and political participation, particularly on the side of the ruling party, is critical for one’s economic survival and prosperity. This has led to enduring intrigue and conflict among the country’s political power elite. Opposition party activists traditionally have embraced leftist policies and claimed to be representing the country’s poor and downtrodden while castigating the ruling Bo…
The Kalahari Killings: The True Story of a Wartime Double Murder in Botswana, 1943
In this book Jonathan Laverick uses archival material and extensive oral interviews in Botswana and Britain to reconstruct the story of the alleged murder of two Royal Air Force (RAF) trainee fight
Very Brave or Very Foolish’? ‘Gallant Little’ Botswana’s Defiance of ‘Apartheid’s Golden Age’, 1966–1980
The period from 1966 to 1979 is claimed to have been ‘apartheid’s golden age’ when the anti-apartheid forces were alleged to have largely acquiesced in the well-resourced South African government. However, this paper observes that Botswana, a country of about one million people and almost entirely surrounded by extremely hostile white minority regimes, demonstrated a spirit of defiance to apartheid’s golden age. Botswana defied military intimidat…
Land, chiefs, mining: South Africa's North West Province since 1840
Selling apartheid: South Africa‘s global propaganda war
(2016). Selling apartheid: South Africa‘s global propaganda war. African Historical Review: Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 169-173
Elite Autobiography in Botswana
There is no hurry in Botswana”: Scholarship and stereotypes on “African time” syndrome in Botswana, 1895- 2011
The lack of a strict and disciplined adherence to keeping time or punctuality has been an issue of major concern to many authorities in the African public and private sectors. Botswana is no exception, as this article will demonstrate. So pervasive is lack of punctuality among Africans in sub-Saharan Africa that a stereotypical notion of “African time” gained currency a long time ago and is still prevalent to this day. Undoubtedly, this attitude …
Tracings: Pan Africanism and the Challenges of Global African Unity
The Cambridge History of South African Literature
Neil Parsons, National Coat of Arms, and Introduction of the Pula Currency in Botswana, 1975–1976
When the government of Botswana introduced the country's Pula currency in 1976 there had been significant involvement of the public in coming up with the name for the currency. A public debate also took place regarding which national symbols were to appear in the new currency. While these issues are fairly well known in the history of Botswana, no attention has been given to a brief but important debate raised by the historian Neil Parsons in ear…
Imagining the Cape Colony: History, Literature, and the South African Nation
(2013). Imagining the Cape Colony: History, Literature, and the South African Nation. African Historical Review: Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 158-161
The Life and Times of Ngamiland: The Story of Maun
(2013). The Life and Times of Ngamiland: The Story of Maun. African Historical Review: Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 176-178
Discourses of Poor Work Ethic in Botswana: A Historical Perspective, 1930-2010
This article analyses discourses of poor work ethic in Botswana from the colonial 1930s to the first decade of the new millennium. The traditional Batswana ethos stressed the importance of hard work, but in the early 1930s British colonial administrators had begun to complain about the Batswana chiefs, leading to colonial policy changes intended to address attitudes to work. Despite these changes, the issue of poor work ethic remained a critical …
Taxation in the Tribal Areas of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1899–1957
This essay examines, through taxation, the relationship between British colonial administrators, Tswana Dikgosi (chiefs) and their subjects in the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1899 to 1957. It argues that since Bechuanaland became a British territory through negotiations the Tswana rulers were able to protect their interests aggressively but with little risk of being deposed. Moreover, the Tswana succession system by primogeniture worked to the…
Elite interests and political participation in Botswana, 1966–2014
Botswana’s tiny economy is overwhelmingly government-driven and political participation, particularly on the side of the ruling party, is critical for one’s economic survival and prosperity. This has led to enduring intrigue and conflict among the country’s political power elite. Opposition party activists traditionally have embraced leftist policies and claimed to be representing the country’s poor and downtrodden while castigating the ruling Bo…
The relationship between Kenneth Koma and the Botswana Democratic Party, 1965-2003
This article assesses the weaknesses of opposition in Botswana through the case of Kenneth Koma, the influential President of the Botswana National Front (BNF) from 1977 to 2001. This is done by examining the perception that from 1997 Koma's relationship with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) destabilized and weakened the opposition in the country. The article challenges a view, held by some of his detractors in the opposition, that his …
Discourses of Poor Work Ethic in Botswana: A Historical Perspective, 1930-2010
This article analyses discourses of poor work ethic in Botswana from the colonial 1930s to the first decade of the new millennium. The traditional Batswana ethos stressed the importance of hard work, but in the early 1930s British colonial administrators had begun to complain about the Batswana chiefs, leading to colonial policy changes intended to address attitudes to work. Despite these changes, the issue of poor work ethic remained a critical …
History and perceptions of regionalism in Botswana, 1891–2005
Although economic, political, ethnic and religious factors have led to regionalisms and other divides, causing civil strife and civil wars in many countries, in Botswana the north–south divide existed for a long time merely as a political undercurrent. However, the turn of the twenty-first century saw the explosion of issues motivated by perceptions that it was the north–south divide that caused imbalance in the provision of infrastructural devel…
International spotlight on Botswana and local public opinion: Race factor in the murder trials of Ompatile Tswaipe, Clement Gofhamodimo and Mariette Bosch, 1978–2001
This historical paper engages in a form of discourse analysis of international media reports on three murder trials in Botswana which involved a white person(s) as a victim or perpetrator. First, is the trial of Botswana Defence Force soldier, Sergeant Ompatile Tswaipe, after allegedly ordering his platoon to shoot three suspected white insurgents in the Tuli Block in 1978. Outrage and pressure from apartheid South African and British media and o…
Challenges of constitutional reform, economic transformation and Covid-19 in Botswana
Botswana’s much-lauded economic boom was accompanied by a disproportionately powerful presidency, poverty, significant economic inequities, elite corruption and rising unemployment. Mokgweetsi Masisi succeeded Ian Khama as president of the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in 2018. He won the 2019 election on a platform of constitutional reform and economic transformation, but the rift between Masisi and Khama appeared to dissuade Masis…
The Tribal Conciliar Experiment and Marginalisation of Local Public Opinion in Botswana, 1948–1957
Indirect colonial rule in Botswana differed from practice elsewhere in British Africa because of the involvement of local public opinion expressed through the long-practiced kgotla forum. This had something to do with the ‘voluntary’ way Botswana fell under British colonial rule in 1885. However, problems sometimes arose, with aggressive agitation against and even violent confrontation with agents of the British colonial system. Starting in 1947 …
The Discourse of Tribalism in Botswana’s 2019 General Elections
Botswana's much touted peaceful Presidential succession experienced uncertainty after the transition on 1 April 2019 as a result of former President Ian Khama's public fallout with his 'handpicked' successor, President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Khama spearheaded a robust campaign to dislodge Masisi and the long-time ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. He actively assisted in the formation of a new political party, the Botswana Patriotic F…
Very Brave or Very Foolish’? ‘Gallant Little’ Botswana’s Defiance of ‘Apartheid’s Golden Age’, 1966–1980
The period from 1966 to 1979 is claimed to have been ‘apartheid’s golden age’ when the anti-apartheid forces were alleged to have largely acquiesced in the well-resourced South African government. However, this paper observes that Botswana, a country of about one million people and almost entirely surrounded by extremely hostile white minority regimes, demonstrated a spirit of defiance to apartheid’s golden age. Botswana defied military intimidat…
Limitations of British Territorial Control in Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1918-1953
This article argues that the Kalahari desert region of the Kwena tribal reserve quietly slipped out of the imperial command from 1930–1950, at a time when British colonial authorities achieved territorial control of the tribal areas of Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) through the chiefs. The British had reluctantly colonised Bechuanaland and initially left the chiefs to their own devices. However, with a new generation of chiefs in office…
Taxation in the Tribal Areas of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1899–1957
This essay examines, through taxation, the relationship between British colonial administrators, Tswana Dikgosi (chiefs) and their subjects in the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1899 to 1957. It argues that since Bechuanaland became a British territory through negotiations the Tswana rulers were able to protect their interests aggressively but with little risk of being deposed. Moreover, the Tswana succession system by primogeniture worked to the…
The relationship between Kenneth Koma and the Botswana Democratic Party, 1965-2003
This article assesses the weaknesses of opposition in Botswana through the case of Kenneth Koma, the influential President of the Botswana National Front (BNF) from 1977 to 2001. This is done by examining the perception that from 1997 Koma's relationship with the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) destabilized and weakened the opposition in the country. The article challenges a view, held by some of his detractors in the opposition, that his …
The Challenges of Financial Responsibility in the Tribal Administration of Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1919–1966
This account of tribal finances in Bechuanaland Protectorate under British colonial rule argues that while the treasury dispensation made the tribes responsible for their finances, it also brought about a new dynamic and challenge in tribal communities as a result of a new monetary and financial system. Little or inadequate remuneration led to low morale, theft, and the employment of incompetent personnel in some instances. The colonial authority…
The impact of Zimbabwean liberation struggle on Botswana: The case of Lesoma ambush, 1978
Polelo e e lebegane le kganyaolo e e diragetseng ka kgwedi ya Tlhakole a le 27 ka ngwaga wa 1978 ele tlhaselo e e maatla thata go diragalela sesole sa Botswana Defence Force (BDF) se e neng ele gone se tlhamiwang. Tlhaselo e ne e dirwa ke sesole sa bo ntwa dumela se se kgethegileng sa difofane sa lefatshe la Rhodesia ka nako ya ntwa ya kgololesego ko Zimbabwe. Polelo e simolola ka go kanoka mekwalo e e se tseng e dirilwe le go lebelela merero ya …
History and perceptions of regionalism in Botswana, 1891–2005
Although economic, political, ethnic and religious factors have led to regionalisms and other divides, causing civil strife and civil wars in many countries, in Botswana the north–south divide existed for a long time merely as a political undercurrent. However, the turn of the twenty-first century saw the explosion of issues motivated by perceptions that it was the north–south divide that caused imbalance in the provision of infrastructural devel…
It's our turn to eat: The story of a Kenyan whistleblower
It's our turn to eat: The story of a Kenyan whistleblower, by Michela Wrong, London, Fourth Estate, 2009, xi + 354 pp., ISBN 978-0-00-724196-5 From 3 to 5 August 2009 the Botswana Federation of Pub
Limitations of British Territorial Control in Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1918-1953
This article argues that the Kalahari desert region of the Kwena tribal reserve quietly slipped out of the imperial command from 1930–1950, at a time when British colonial authorities achieved territorial control of the tribal areas of Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) through the chiefs. The British had reluctantly colonised Bechuanaland and initially left the chiefs to their own devices. However, with a new generation of chiefs in office…
The Basutoland Congress Party in Exile: 1974–1986
This article attempts to bring to light a rather neglected aspect of the history of Botswana's role in the liberation struggle of southern Africa. It demonstrates that Botswana hosted a whole political party in the form of the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP). Members of this party and others from Lesotho were refugees from Prime Minister Chief Leabua Jonathan's repressive rule in Lesotho from 1974 to 1986. In 1974 the opposition BCP resorted to a…
Provision of Local Services by Tribal Administrations in Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1900–1966
This paper demonstrates how the tribal administrations in Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana), despite severe logistical, financial and personnel constraints, played a significant role in the provision of the much needed local services from as early as 1900. In some East and West African colonies this began only in the 1950s after the Second World War and towards independence. Moreover, the tribal administrations in Bechuanaland were able to…
Imagining the Cape Colony: History, Literature, and the South African Nation
(2013). Imagining the Cape Colony: History, Literature, and the South African Nation. African Historical Review: Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 158-161
The Life and Times of Ngamiland: The Story of Maun
(2013). The Life and Times of Ngamiland: The Story of Maun. African Historical Review: Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 176-178
Discourses of Poor Work Ethic in Botswana: A Historical Perspective, 1930-2010
This article analyses discourses of poor work ethic in Botswana from the colonial 1930s to the first decade of the new millennium. The traditional Batswana ethos stressed the importance of hard work, but in the early 1930s British colonial administrators had begun to complain about the Batswana chiefs, leading to colonial policy changes intended to address attitudes to work. Despite these changes, the issue of poor work ethic remained a critical …
Democratic Deficit in the Parliament of Botswana
"Democratic Deficit in the Parliament of Botswana." Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(4), pp. 999–1000
The Cambridge History of South African Literature
Neil Parsons, National Coat of Arms, and Introduction of the Pula Currency in Botswana, 1975–1976
When the government of Botswana introduced the country's Pula currency in 1976 there had been significant involvement of the public in coming up with the name for the currency. A public debate also took place regarding which national symbols were to appear in the new currency. While these issues are fairly well known in the history of Botswana, no attention has been given to a brief but important debate raised by the historian Neil Parsons in ear…
There is no hurry in Botswana”: Scholarship and stereotypes on “African time” syndrome in Botswana, 1895- 2011
The lack of a strict and disciplined adherence to keeping time or punctuality has been an issue of major concern to many authorities in the African public and private sectors. Botswana is no exception, as this article will demonstrate. So pervasive is lack of punctuality among Africans in sub-Saharan Africa that a stereotypical notion of “African time” gained currency a long time ago and is still prevalent to this day. Undoubtedly, this attitude …
Tracings: Pan Africanism and the Challenges of Global African Unity
Land, chiefs, mining: South Africa's North West Province since 1840
Selling apartheid: South Africa‘s global propaganda war
(2016). Selling apartheid: South Africa‘s global propaganda war. African Historical Review: Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 169-173
Elite Autobiography in Botswana
Elite interests and political participation in Botswana, 1966–2014
Botswana’s tiny economy is overwhelmingly government-driven and political participation, particularly on the side of the ruling party, is critical for one’s economic survival and prosperity. This has led to enduring intrigue and conflict among the country’s political power elite. Opposition party activists traditionally have embraced leftist policies and claimed to be representing the country’s poor and downtrodden while castigating the ruling Bo…
The Kalahari Killings: The True Story of a Wartime Double Murder in Botswana, 1943
In this book Jonathan Laverick uses archival material and extensive oral interviews in Botswana and Britain to reconstruct the story of the alleged murder of two Royal Air Force (RAF) trainee fight
Very Brave or Very Foolish’? ‘Gallant Little’ Botswana’s Defiance of ‘Apartheid’s Golden Age’, 1966–1980
The period from 1966 to 1979 is claimed to have been ‘apartheid’s golden age’ when the anti-apartheid forces were alleged to have largely acquiesced in the well-resourced South African government. However, this paper observes that Botswana, a country of about one million people and almost entirely surrounded by extremely hostile white minority regimes, demonstrated a spirit of defiance to apartheid’s golden age. Botswana defied military intimidat…
Popular Participation in the Provision of Higher Education and Restoration of Historical Heritage: The Case of the University of Botswana Logo, 1976–2014
In the first decade of the twenty-first century the University of Botswana (UB) branded itself among other things by changing its original and historical logo in response to severe competition for students. The logo had been made in 1983 by members of public and reflected sacrifices the population had made through contributions of cows for construction of the university in 1976. The new logo, which UB introduced in 2008, had features of the old o…
Intrusion into Rural Tribal Space in Botswana: The Case of the Trans-Kalahari Motor Race, 1975-1981
In line with the international sports boycott of apartheid, by the mid 1970s Botswana was not allowing black South African football teams to compete in Botswana, despite their immense popularity and influence in the country. Ironically, in 1975, the government agreed to host an exclusively white motor sport dominated by South Africans. This article argues that the government of Botswana succumbed to claims by the South African organisers of the r…
Political science (29 works) · Law (26 works) · African history and culture studies (22 works) · Law (22 works) · Politics (21 works) · South African History and Culture (21 works) · Sociology (19 works) · History (17 works) · History (15 works) · African studies and sociopolitical issues (13 works)