THE 66-year-old paramount chief of the Tswanas, Constance Kgosiemang, died yesterday.
Kgosiemang, who was in the process of moving his traditional authority to Aminuis, died of a heart attack.’The Tswanas and his family have lost their leader, a person who was always willing to listen to his people,’ Andrew Matjila, a former Parliamentarian, told The Namibian.The Tswana leader was born at Aminuis on August 5 1946 and was installed as chief of the Tswanas in 1979. He was a descendant of Chief Morwe, who moved with his people from Kuruman in South Africa to settle in Namibia.In 1978 Kgosiemang joined the DTA and in 1989 he was, together with Matjila, a member of the Constituent Assembly which was transformed to Namibia’s first Parliament on Independence Day.However, due to pressure from the Tswana people that he should be a full-time chief, Kgosiemang left the National Assembly in 1993.In 1998 he joined Swapo, but never returned to Parliament, rather concentrating on tribal matters.He is survived by his wife, Emilie, and three children. The funeral is expected to take place next weekend.According to Matjila, Tswana chiefs from Kuruman and from Botswana would attend the funeral.The traditional authority will choose an acting chief for the next three to six months, after which a decision should be taken on the position of paramount chief.
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