Botswana Society Lecture

The Botswana Society is another gemstone here in Botswana. It is a membership organization formed shortly after independence that encourages research and scholarship on Botswana. They publish an annual journal, Botswana Notes and Records, and an occasional paper series and sponsor public lectures and larger symposia and workshops. They have an office out at Kgale Siding where I have been able to peruse all of their past publications.

Last night Mary, Leloba and I went to a Botswana Society lecture held at the National Museum with the intriguing title: 'Lady Ruth Khama, Barack Obama and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?' delivered by Neil Parsons, longtime history professor at the University of Botswana. Two decades ago, when researching the Seretse Khama biography, Parsons was apparently told by Lady Ruth that the above named film was based on her story with Seretse Khama. During a recent sabbatical leave he followed up on this tip and the lecture last night presented his findings. Indeed, he learned that the author of the filmscript did know the Khamas in London as well as Peggy and Joe Appiah another British/African (Ghana) pair. To make a long story short, Parsons found some credence to Lady Ruth's assertion though the four main characters were based on slightly different individuals, with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy based on Peggy Appiah's aristocratic parents and Sidney Poitier's character based on a Sierra Leonean diplomat and parent of one of the private school friends of the author's daughter. Parsons played some clips of the film including the prophetic one in which the young man is asked about the couple's children. He replies that she thinks they will one day be President of the United States while he sets his sights slightly lower at Secretary of State. In 1991 a film called 'A Marriage of Inconvenience' - definitely the Khamas' story - was released.

Sitting in front of me at the lecture was Muriel Sanderson, sister of Lady Ruth Khama. For many years she lived and worked in Zambia, then eventually relocated to Botswana where she has lived ever since. She told us about her parents' reactions to Seretse and Ruth's marriage - that her father never accepted it (let alone the children), though her mother, from much the same background as her father, was able to embrace the marriage and family. She also told us that one evening, long before the film, she, Seretse, Ruth and Sidney (who had taken an interest in the Seretse-Ruth story and wanted to meet them) had a delightful evening together in London.