MOAPARE ASCENDS THE HUKUNTSI THRONE Thato Mosinyi reporting for BOPA from Hukuntsi Kgalagadi District Commissioner, Mr Moemedi Letina, announced during a kgotla meeting in Hukuntsi that the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Peter Siele had in accordance with Section 22 (1) of Bogosi Act CAP 41;01 of 2008 approved the appointment of Mr Cosmas Moapare as Kgosi for Hukuntsi Village. The position of Kgosi in Hukuntsi fell vacant in October 2012 following the death of Kgosi Anthony Moapare who was the father to Cosmas Moapare. Kgosi Molaodi Leipego has been acting for the vacant posts since the death of Kgosi Anthony Moapare. The announcement of Mr Cosmas Moapare as the rightful heir to the throne was received with mixed feelings as a dispute on who should be sworn in erupted between the royal families; Leipegos and Moapares. Some members of the Leipego family argued that the Leipegos are rightful heirs by virtue of being the eldest in the royal family. According to Mr Keabetswe Molatelele, who identified himself as the uncle to the Leipegos, it was inappropriate for the minister to appoint Mr Cosmas Moapere as the rightful heir to the throne because the Moapares were only sworn in as regent during the colonial era. He narrated that their great-grand father Kgotlafela I who was the leader of Bangologa tribe way back was killed in a lion hunt and their uncle, Magobelelo, who was the father to Moapare I, was sworn in as a regent to the Leipegos. Another royal, Oabametse Leipego said according to her knowledge Moapares were only sworn in as regents therefore it was rightfully fitting for the throne to be handed back to the Leipegos since they are the eldest of the two. Offering a contrary version, Mr Samson Moapare said Moapares have for years been identified and honoured as royals and their chieftainship dated back to the generation of Moapare I.He said history revealed that the Leipegos were at some point at the helm of leading the Hukuntsi community, but could not claim to be the rightful heirs of the Hukuntsi throne. “It is traditionally right that the son inherits the father’s position and that is why even the minister has endorsed the name of Cosmas Moapare to lead the people of Hukuntsi,” he said. Another speaker, Mr Marang Moapare also supported Cosmas Moapare appointment to the throne saying it was appropriate for the minister to appoint Moapare because he was the rightful heir. “Cosmas should be sworn in to lead Bangologa in Hukuntsi by virtue of being the first born son to the late Kgosi Moapare, it is disappointing for our royal cousins to be questioning the minister’s decision with the full knowledge that the Moapares have beendikgosi for generations” he said. He said it was not right for the royal family to hang their dirty linen in public but rather discuss the issue in-house should there be a dispute between the two parties. The Hukuntsi chieftainship dispute is not new as the dispute had to be settled in the High Court in 1993 after the Leipego family took the matter to the court and lost the matter as well as the appeal.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 16:37:20 +0000
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