Lucas Manyane Mangope former president aka tautona ya Bophutatswana from 1977 -1994. Some say he was a visionary, some a punk, a looser and a sell out.
After last nights sabc 2 doccie on Madiba, I asked myself the question what was/is mangope to me now?Cause in the doccie titled Mandela the peacemaker,it chronicled how Mandela manouvered and negotiated a peaceful settlement for the 1st great truely democratic vote in sa . The doccie touched on all the issues that led to 1994 but somehow skipped to mention the AWB incident and the former homelands refusing to participate in the general election.
Anyhow im dgressing a bi,t Mangope was responsible for such things as creating Mmabatho the town, Bop tv, radio bop, Radio Mmabatho (now known as Motsweding fm) , the mmabana artsand cultural centre basically what the former homeland was.That produced talents like Nothemba Madumo,Bob Mabena, Tich Matez, Felica Mabuza and many more
A good education system that saw Unibo now Uniwest produce good quality graduate who worked mostly for the civil service and are doing quite well in the new South Africa. Then him and his face fmous Madormkraga ( the dmocrats) where also very good at living the good life at the expense of the public and deciding for the public instead of talking to them but yet they left a very impressive infrastructure in the former bop region and mafikeng when they finalywere booted out.
But why was he then snubbed by history and particularly by the doccie? The man had achieved modest success with his bantustan , better than Ciskei and the other bantustands in promoting the lives of the populace.
I believe it comes from that fatal year which was 1994 when South Africa wanted to become one and there was a push for the April 27th poll that Mangope unilaterally pulled Bophutatswana out of the Codessa talks and the elections. That was hes undoing, that created unrest that finaly pushed him out of power. Although until to this day the man still blames the ANC for it and not the citizens of the NW. Which is a shame cause it was 'batho bame'' (my people) who ejected him from power but he has still to come to terms with it.
For me the old Bophutatswana government insured a sheltered life for me,if it was not for my family relations outside of Bophutatswana. I would have grown in complete middle class ignorance of apartheid and the effects it had on the country and on me as a sheltered Motswana in a bubble that was Mafikeng. The old governtment contributed in giving me a good education, a good home and a goood neighbourhood to live in.
Its a pity the man was short sighted, if he had made different decision in 1994 I could be singing a different tune about him. So was Mangope a saint, a visionary leader, or megalomaniac? I'd say he was a flawed leader,but a leader nonetheless who forgot to put the peoples interest before his own.