Sechele I

Sechele I
Portrait taken by German anthropologist Gustav Fritsch at Ntsweng (nowadays, Old Molepolole) in 1865.
Native name	Sechele
Born	Circa 1812 Botswana
Died	September 1892 (aged 81–82)
Resting place	Tribal Cemetery at Molepolole
Title	Kgosi of the Bakwena
Term	1831 – 1892
Predecessor	Motswasele II
Successor	Sebele I
Children	Three sons: Kgari, Sebele and Tumagole.

Sechele I a Motswasele "Rra Mokonopi" (1812–1892), also known as Setshele, was the ruler of the Kwêna people of Botswana. He was converted to Christianity by David Livingstone and in his role as ruler served as a missionary among his own and other African peoples. According to Livingstone biographer Stephen Tomkins, Sechele was Livingstone's only African convert to Christianity, even though Livingstone himself came to regard Sechele as a "backslider". Sechele led the baKwêna in the Battle of Dimawe in 1852.

Sechele was born in 1812, the son of the chief of the Kwêna tribe of Tswana people of what is modern-day Botswana. When Sechele was ten years old, his father was killed and the leadership of the tribe was divided between his two uncles. Sechele and some of his supporters fled into the desert. He spent some years among the Ngwato people and married Mokgokong, a daughter of Chief Kgari. In about 1831 he succeeded in replacing one of his uncles as ruler of half the baKwêna.

In 1847 Sechele met David Livingstone at Tshwane. He and his people accompanied the missionary to the Kolobeng River where Livingstone set up the Kolobeng Mission. The establishment of missions was sometimes encouraged by local rulers because the missionaries gave them access to guns and gunpowder, which gave them an advantage over neighbouring tribes lacking such technology.

Sechele was eager to learn to read and write and was an adept student, learning the letters of the alphabet in two days. He was so keen to learn that he rose early and breakfasted before dawn. Once he had mastered reading, he taught his wives to read. The only book available in the language of the Tswana was the Bible. He later sent five of his children to be educated by another missionary, Robert Moffat, at Kuruman.

Sechele experienced several conflicts between local custom and Christianity. He had to give up his role as the local rainmaker. He fell into conflict with the Livingstone over his marriage to five women. At first Livingstone was inclined to be relaxed about it but feeling under pressure from other missionaries, he demanded divorce of four of the five. Sechele did so. As there were no further impediments, he was baptised in 1848.