Dumelang Saleshando It is most unfortunate that the funeral of a national icon such as Gomolemo Motswaledi should be used as a platform to divide the nation when we all know the values that he stood and campaigned for. He did not discriminate those that held views that were strongly opposed to his and wished all his opponents well. The BCP was invited by the Motswaledi family to speak at his memorial service at the UB stadium as well as at his funeral in Serowe. I accepted the invitation and delegated Rammidi to speak at the UB stadium on behalf of the BCP. Rammidi served with Motswaledi in the BDP youth league and I wanted him to give a first hand account of the strengths of a colleague who has departed. As we all know, UDC members invaded the UB pitch demanding that the BDP should not address the memorial service and a decision was made by their leadership to also exclude the BCP. I proceeded to Serowe this morning to pay my last respects to Gomolemo. I was moved by the speeches made by his father and brother, who both pleaded for tolerance and that the death of their child, should not be used to malign others and threaten the peace we all cherish. On my arrival, I had been briefed by the family that I am part of the program. They however further indicated that they are aware that there were some at the funeral who plan to disturb proceedings should I be allowed to address the mourners. They promised to observe the situation and keep me posted on the developments. We agreed that if in their assessment, there was a danger that my address could lead to a disruption of the proceedings by the UDC supporters, I will not speak so as to allow for a smooth flow of the program and avoid a repeat of the UB fiasco. As the program progressed, I was advised by the family that it was clear that there was a plan to disrupt the program if I spoke and I agreed that they should delete me from the program. The MC announced that together with the BDP representative,I will not address the mourners. The announcement was met with cheers and whistling from the UDC supporters. I was later informed that the tension was deteriorating, particularly when the UDC Gaborone Central campaign manager announced in his address that Gomolemo o bolailwe ke go batla bo palamente jwa Gaborone Central. More of the UDC members were still to speak and my colleagues advised that we should leave and not be the source of disruption to the proceedings of a man we all respected and held in high esteem. I took the advice and left out of respect for the family. The last thing they needed was to witness a repeat of the UB stadium embarrassment. Later, the UDC National Chair (Motlatsi Molapisi)n informed Gabz FM that we should never have been welcome to the funeral. Clearly, this is a first in the politics of Botswana. I think that Gomolemo deserved better. As a nation we should have united across the divide to bid him farewell. He sincerely wished well for all of us. He knew that we did not all need to share a common political platform, but we needed each other as human beings. I hope that this new culture of sheer intolerance does not become entrenched in our society. I would still like to have a drink with my UDC friends and exchange notes on some of the issues that we agree on. I hope that most Batswana can see beyond our political differences. Nation building requires that we must be each others gate keepers, not enemies as suggested by the UDC chair. I pray that the soul of Gomolemo Motswaledi will find undisturbed peace until we are reunited on Judgement Day..
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 15:33:24 +0000
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