Mosikiri wa ga Sekgoma still going strong

KASANE - Trees do not tell tales. But if trees could talk, a giant Mosikiri tree known as "Mosikiri wa ga Sekgoma," in the Chobe National Park near Serondela would bare it all.
The giant tree that lies eminently tall among the thick bushes would tell the tales of how Sekgoma-a-Letsholathebe fled from his motherland and settled in Kavulavula. The tree would tell about Sekgoma's meeting with Lewanika, King of Barotsi.
It would tell about Sekgoma's fight with his half brother, Moremi, which left him with a broken leg. It is from under this tree that Sekgoma effectively ruled his Batawana tribe.
It is amazing how this tree had stood the test of time in the face of ever changing climatic conditions, human nature's destructiveness and the vicious veldt fires that often ravage the Chobe National Park. It should stand out as part of the Batawana's historical heritage if not a symbol of its existence.
Having endured the passage of time, definitely the tree still has a long way to go. As old as the hills, the tree does not only remain strong but it still blossoming so beautifully.
To say that the tree had been there before 1900 would be an understatement to many.
This is the tree that Kgosi Sekgoma of Batawana chose as his headquarters when he settled in Serondela around 1900 following a long standing tribal feud over the chieftainship dispute with his half brother, Moremi.
Narrating the tale, Kgosi Mmualefhe Mmualefhe of Batawana in Kachikau, one of the remaining Sekgoma's descendants, said for Batawana the tree marks an important monument in their origin. "This is the tree that we have to look after as it is important in the history of Batawana." According to him when Sekgoma fled from his motherland in Serowe following a battle with his half brother, Moremi, he settled in Kavulavula and chose this tree as a place where he would hold all his important meetings.
Recently some dikgosi from Ntlo ya Dikgosi toured the area where the tree is and planted four more Mosikiri trees around it.
"Kgosi Sekgoma was very powerful and I believe it is the reason why this tree has remained strong up to this day," he said adding that Sekgoma performed many traditional rituals under the tree.
"He held all his important meetings under this tree," he said. Kgosi Mmualefhe said there is a large, 'scary rock monitor' that lives around the tree.
However, it was nowhere to be seen during the visit to the tree.
"You should count yourself very lucky to see it. You cannot just come here and see it,' he states.
He said more often than not, he visits the tree to experience an aura of strength.
It is amazing how Kgosi Mmualefhe believes that the giant tree can perform miracles. He says no one can remove any object from under the tree.
As if it was some kind of vindication, a BTV reporter tripped on a log and sustained minor bruises from a log, which he was trying to move away from the tree. "Sekgoma's spirit is still living in this tree," Kgosi Mmualefhe warned the reporter.
"It is an indisputable fact that that the tree was used by Sekgoma as his makeshift kgotla. He chose the tree as a sanctuary from which he would hold his important meetings," Kgosi Moffat Mwezi of Kasane said.
He said from here, Sekgoma went to settle in Kavimba where he died in 1914 after a short illness.
A lion killed his son David. Father and son are buried in Kavimba where their graveyards are still visible up to this day. BOPA