Setshele I - Battle of Dimawe

Battle of Dimawe

Missionaries such as Livingstone were unpopular with the Boers, in Livingstone's case because he was believed to have supplied rifles and ammunition to the Kwêna. Because Sechele and the Kwêna lived on the route to Central Africa, between the Transvaal and Shoshong, Sechele was perceived by the Boers as a danger to their western border.

In 1852 a group of Bahurutshe people who were slaves of the Boers escaped and fled to the Kwêna for protection. The Boers destroyed the Kolobeng mission and attacked the Kwêna at Dimawe, where they encountered the combined Batswana tribes of Bakwêna, Bahurutshe, Balete and Batlokwa. Before the attack there was an attempt by the Batswana to protect the women and children by sending them into hiding, but according to Livingstone, many were taken prisoner by the Boers. Under the leadership of Sechele, Khama of Bangwato, and Bathoen of Bangwaketse, the Boers were defeated by a combination of strategy and fire power.

Sechele and the London Missionary Society both complained about the Boers' actions to the Colonial Secretary in London. But because the British were at that time negotiating with the Boers over the Sand River Convention, the British High Commissioner was instructed not to go beyond "friendly remonstrances" with the Boers over the matter. The British did not want to risk their relationship with the Boers by appearing to side with Sechele. Moreover, British interests lay in colonising the area, rather than protecting its inhabitants. Sechele set out for England with the intention of seeking the protection of Queen Victoria, but his resources ran out by the time he reached Cape Town.