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But Seretse was keenly disappointed. ‘I expected postponement for life, not twenty-four hours,' he remarked bitterly.
²⁰
Until the late hours of the evening, he and Ruth had been hoping for a last-minute reprieve. Now that Seretse and Tshekedi had settled most of their differences, the reasons for exile that had been given in the White Paper were redundant. ‘I have never really believed that we would have to go back to England,' Ruth told a reporter that evening. ‘Notwithstanding what has been published in the British press, I do not want to leave Bechuanaland… my home is out here now, and I really belong to this territory.'
²¹
But they had to go. Sullivan called on Ruth at nine in the evening, to give her a final set of travel details.
²²

Seretse and Tshekedi were working on their joint statement a few miles away from Lobatse, with Kgosi Bathoen. When it was ready and Clark had approved it, the three men said they wished to hold a meeting with some of the elders of the Bangwato in secret, to avoid the intrusions of the press. Clark readily agreed, especially as they offered to keep Government officers informed of their whereabouts and said they were welcome to attend. Clark was appreciative. ‘There was really no obligation on them to do this,' he reported afterwards. ‘Had they wished, they could have gone ahead by themselves jointly or independently with results which might have been embarrassing or disastrous to us.' They borrowed lamps, typewriter, paper and carbons, and disappeared. They were hard at work until nearly midnight, when Seretse and Tshekedi delivered signed copies of their joint statement to the Administration, for Monsarrat to issue to the press next morning.
²³

They also sent a telegram to Baring. Their exclusion from the
Reserve, they argued, had created a transitional period in the life of the Bangwato – from rule through traditional Chiefs to rule through another body. This was a drastic change. The institution of direct rule, they pointed out, was unwelcome and contrary to the declared principles of the British Government. Accordingly, they requested the Government

to appoint a Council of experts (both African and European) in British Colonial Administration, to consult with our people in their own country regarding the formation of a workable system of Tribal Administration, before any scheme of a permanent nature is tried. We feel that this request is both urgent and necessary.
²⁴

Clearly, the two men were thinking hard about models of government that would be most appropriate for their people, and how such models should be created. These were questions that had become pressing for many African leaders at this time, who were looking ahead to majority rule and self-government for their nations.

Despite their late night, Seretse and Tshekedi were up before dawn the next day and left Lobatse for the rocky slopes of a hill five miles from Gaberones, where hundreds of men were waiting for them. As the sun started to rise into the sky, the meeting began. Seretse read the joint statement, which emphasized the two men's reconciliation, in a voice quivering with emotion:

While Tshekedi's views on the effect of Seretse's marriage on the Tribe remain unaltered, both Tshekedi and Seretse have reached the conclusion that a basis of cooperation between them and their people and the Government is not an impossible solution to find.

They had agreed, they said, to meet in London at some future date and they insisted that

A perpetuation of the present friction between those who support Seretse's views and those who support Tshekedi's views on the question of the marriage will only make the solution impossible of attainment. Differences of opinion should not interfere with common interest.

Then they called upon the Bangwato to start cooperating with the Government. ‘This cooperation is most essential,' they urged, ‘to the
eventual establishment of a fully representative and efficient system of Native Administration run by Africans.'
²⁵
Seretse and Tshekedi shook hands and Tshekedi said, ‘We shall meet in London soon and get this business fixed up.' Clouds of red dust rose into the air as the audience stamped their approval.
²⁶
Tshekedi, sitting huddled and tired on a rock on the outskirts of the circle, wearing a greatcoat to keep warm against the chill of the early morning, waved his hand.
²⁷

Seretse then went on to make a speech of his own, to say farewell.
²⁸
He had not mentioned this in advance to Clark, who surmised afterwards that he had written it before producing the joint statement with his uncle.
²⁹
He was leaving the Protectorate against his will, he explained: he was not abandoning his claim to the kingship. It was important for Seretse to emphasize the fact that he had been forced into exile and that he had not accepted the British Government's decision to deprive the people of their Kgosi. This statement did not represent a departure from the ‘Aide-Memoire' he had signed with Tshekedi, since that document had only set out guidelines for discussion; it had been clearly understood between uncle and nephew that any renunciation was a matter for the people to decide, after full discussions at the Kgotla.

Since his return from England at the end of March, continued Seretse, representatives of every subordinate group of the Bangwato had visited him – ‘and have convinced me that the whole Bangwato Nation is now more united than at any time in living memory'. This fact, he said, ‘has brought me solace at this moment when I have to leave you with deepest sorrow'. He had planned, he added, to introduce reforms for the advancement and happiness of his people – and it was a ‘sad and bitter disappointment' to be deprived of this opportunity.

He encouraged the Bangwato to pay tax and to obey all the lawful orders of the government. ‘Above all,' he said, ‘pay due homage and remain loyal to His Majesty King George VI.' He looked forward to his return to his people: ‘Hard words have been spoken, misinterpretations and misconceptions have taken place and injustices have resulted. Let us call a temporary truce and with the help of Almighty God I look forward to the day not far off when the Bangwato Nation will be united with me in person for the welfare and progress of our country.' He concluded:

To each one of you my wife and I with sorrowful hearts express our deep appreciation of your loyalty and unlimited kindness. Your welfare and happiness will be our constant concern wherever we may be.

May God bless each one of you and protect you.

SALANG SENTLE
[Stay well].
³⁰

Fraenkel handed out copies of Seretse's speech to the press, which had been printed as a broadsheet. It was entitled ‘
Go batho ba me
' – ‘To my people'.
³¹

The press picked up on the reconciliation between Seretse and Tshekedi. ‘Tshekedi Reconciled to Nephew's Marriage to White Woman,' reported the
Rhodesia Herald
.
³²
But the Administration played it down, pointing out that it was not far-reaching. Clark suspected, in any case, that Tshekedi had been surprised by Seretse's speech of farewell and was not at all happy about it.
³³

Meanwhile, outside the general store in Gaberones, men and women waited to catch a glimpse of Ruth, who was driving the new family car from Lobatse. When she arrived in the town, they crowded round to see baby Jacqueline, in the arms of Naledi, who had now arrived from Durban.
³⁴
The two women and baby then drove to the airstrip, accompanied by the District Commissioner and his wife. They were fifteen minutes late, complained Clark, as Ruth ‘insisted on driving in their own car, which had not yet been run in'.
³⁵

The Khamas were scheduled to leave at 12.15 and would be flying for the first leg of the journey in Sir Evelyn's official aircraft. This had been arranged because, unlike most aircraft in the region, it would not need to stop in Francistown to refuel – an extra stop that would require more policing.
³⁶
There was much anxiety about what could still go wrong. Once again, there were rumours of a kidnap plot and Monsarrat stayed up half the night coding up a message to ask for extra security – with the result that next morning the airstrip at Gaberones was surrounded by policemen and the aircraft was ringed by guards.

In the event, the Khamas' departure took place without incident, although the aircraft took off about thirty minutes behind schedule – ‘owing to Mrs Khama's slow driving,' grumbled Clark.
³⁷
Seretse and Ruth showed the strain of the last few days: he looked tired from the intense negotiations with both Tshekedi and the Government; and she
had clearly been weeping. They were both wearing sunglasses. Ruth was dressed in a plain, unfussy suit, with a scarf neatly tied around her neck, and low heels; Seretse was dressed in a suit and tie, with a trilby. Naledi wore a turban round her head, with a scarf around her neck. Solemnly, they passed down a line of headmen, shaking hands with them.
³⁸
These men, some of them old and grizzled, ‘bowed their heads in sorrow,' reported the Johannesburg
Star
, ‘and the many Europeans present to see the send-off were visibly moved'. Even among the officials, added the
Star
, ‘there was some biting of lips'. Monks, who was there, said that a police officer, of long service in the Protectorate, blew his nose and said, ‘Poor devils.'
³⁹
Ruth and Seretse held each other's hands tightly. ‘Anyone who lived as close to this story, as I did,' said Monks, ‘couldn't help being impressed with their devotion to each other and with the sincerity of their relationship, whatever our feelings about the marriage.'
⁴⁰

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the Khama family walked together across the tarmac, slowly and with great dignity. The air was still and dry and the veld around the airfield looked parched: there had been no rain for many months. Ruth and Naledi carried between them the carry-cot – provided by Mrs Monks – in which Jacqueline slept.
⁴¹
As they neared the aircraft, Oratile – her face creased in grief and sobbing – rushed forward for one last look at the child and then turned to Ruth, whom she kissed and embraced; Ruth clung to her.
⁴²
All along the perimeter fence of the airfield, Bangwato men and women shouted farewell. Tears ran down their faces. On the step the banished couple turned round for one last look and a wave of the hand. Mrs Khama was overcome. Then, as they took their seats in the aircraft, Seretse buried his face in his hands.
⁴³
As the plane went off, a spontaneous moan ran through the crowd.
⁴⁴

The aircraft swooped low over the heads of the crowd and set course for the north.
⁴⁵
Monsarrat was designated the ‘conducting officer'. After the plane had taken off, he recalled later, ‘both Seretse and Ruth Khama were glum, as I would have been myself. I walked forward to the tiny cockpit, and had a look at the chart. It showed that, with a very small alteration of course, we could fly directly over Serowe, the capital, and Seretse's own birthplace.' This he proposed to Seretse:

I went back and asked him if he would like that. The answer was Yes, and we spent ten minutes circling the vast spread of mud huts, maize patches, herds of cattle, and dusty tracks before getting back on course again, and steering for the swirling cloud of spray, a thousand feet high, which marked the point where the Zambezi River thundered over the Victoria Falls.
⁴⁶

This recalled the stunt arranged by Monks when Seretse had returned to Bechuanaland in March. At the time, Monsarrat had been furious. But when faced with the Khamas' grief, he felt a need to do something to ease their pain. Although an abrasive man, he was deeply romantic and did not fit naturally into the world of the British colonial Administrator.

The aircraft arrived at Livingstone at 5 p.m. and the Khamas were taken under the wing of the District Commissioner. Monsarrat had to get them off safely the next morning, which proved a challenge. They were to catch the flying-boat very early – and it was important to get them on that boat, because it only flew once a week. But Seretse did not share Monsarrat's sense of urgency:

I think he liked his breakfast; he was certainly enjoying this one, and it was not to be hurried. I could not really blame him; he had me by the tail anyway, and my impatience as he worked his way through the mealie porridge, the eggs and bacon, the soft rolls with chunky marmalade, the cup after cup of coffee, must have been laughable – especially as it was the last laugh he was going to enjoy in this part of the world, for a very long time.

By courtesy of our faithful ally, BOAC, I managed to hold the flying-boat until the last crumb was disposed of, and there was no egg left on anyone's face. Then Seretse caught his plane.

I telegraphed Arthur Clark, in our agreed code: ‘EXIT'.
⁴⁷

The flying-boat lifted slowly into the air. The Khamas would soon leave southern Africa behind them: they would arrive at Kampala in the afternoon, to spend the night at the BOAC hotel, before the next leg of the long journey.

Baring was immensely relieved. ‘We succeeded in getting the Khamas out and the press was bitterly disappointed there was not a scene… I received a row of congratulations, not very well deserved, including one from Clem [Attlee],' he wrote with satisfaction to his
wife. ‘I will be relieved to be rid of the Seretse problem next July,' he told her, referring to the forthcoming end of his term of office. ‘Malan and I are now practically blood brothers!' But he was afraid that the British Government had been undermined by the reconciliation between Seretse and Tshekedi: ‘All the same we are not out of the woods since Seretse and Tshekedi now think they will both resign the chieftainship and both come back as private individuals.'
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