Seretse and Ruth

Tafelberg Publishers, 2005, softcover, 375 pages, condition: as new.

When Seretse Khama, first democratic president of Botswana and heir to the kingdom of the Bamangwato, was sent by his uncles to study law in the UK, they couldn't have foreseen that he would fall in love with an English girl, and force a political crisis. This book traces Ruth and Seretse's story, through the protracted period when, thwarted by the machinations of the British and South African governments and the Bamangwato elders, the young couple struggled to obtain permission to marry and then to ascend the throne; through the time of exile; all the way to independence, Seretse's triumphant inauguration as president and ultimately his ill health and death. A postscript brings the tale right up to date, outlining the lives of Seretse's and Ruth's children. This moving love story is also about the end of British rule and the coming of African democracy. It details a political scandal in which the British government was intimately involved. Based on interviews, newly released documentation and archival material, with the full blessing of the Khama family, the authors have created a compelling account of one of the most dramatic love stories of our time.

A book worth my time. It does not only deal with a personal story of Seretse and Ruth Khama but that of a nation of Batswana. A story of love, patience and courage as displayed by the young Seretse. He never held grudges against those who stood in his way. He was dynamic moving from a mindset of royalty in a tribe to democracy of a nation and taking his people along with him. He had integrity and laying a stable foundation for Botswana that is to last for years after his death. Colonialism was an interference in other people's lives and its effects are still felt even now after it has long gone.