Ndaba Gaolatlhe,s Farewell Speech ...FAREWELL TO GOMOLEMO T.MOTSWALEDI:: Goodbye my friend, goodbye my leader For all the beautiful words he used, in Setswana and English And despite the use of the most hidden metaphors or his art of presentation Even he, Motswaledi, on this day, could not have adequately captured the full extent of the towering life he led He could not have fully shown the glow of his exemplary life His humility would never have been willing to dig the chapters of the bible The only place where men like him are found He would have refused to be likened to Daniel or Moses That’s exactly the man he was, a man of biblical proportions This was Gomolemo the courageous, this was Sir G the visionary, this was Gomolemo the magnificent servant of the people Yet it was not the grand visions he possessed or espoused that made him great Nor was it his eloquence or his musical genius It was the simple things with everyone he met, the small gestures, the humor, the laughters, the handshakes, the phone calls and the hugs that revealed the gift he was How many men and women are able to live with us, among us, in this way, treating us as equals, believing in their equality with us, when in fact, something deep in them sets them apart “Ina jame ke Gomolemo, sehane ke Motswaledi, ke tsalwa ko Serowe, mme ka maswabi ke kgaeletse mo Gaborone” And true to his humility and despite that he was my president Regardless that he was the senior brother, irrespective of his more valuable traits He allowed us to live like equals, we did everything together Never, on our long has anything, or anybody or any issue come in-between, not once For everything we faced we faced as a team He consulted on every decision, sought a view even on the most sensitive I remember our experiences and how we subsequently left the BDP I remember the experiences when we decided that Gideon Boko, not him, must lead the Umbrella This was Gomolemo the courageous, this was Sir G the visionary, this was Gomolemo the magnificent servant of the people Although he was a people’s man living among the people and for the people He was a man who reserved a special place in his heart for his family, loved his father, we called him “Tax” Now this man is a walking dictionary of the Setswana language, We made fun of him often, in a fond way Tax is a man of prayer, long prayers, and is not the type of man you want to visit if you are in a hurry Tax is the human form of strength and courage There is no need to wonder where and how Gomolemo became a lion-tamer His brother, Gape, is a walking museum of his brother, in both physical disposition, in his language and Botho He too was a subject of our jokes Many years ago, on our way to the north, we filled our petrol at the BP station in Palapye There was a young lady there who used to help us –Malebogo –I recall He would say to me “kana nna le wena ha ne re batho jaaka batho bangwe, re sa taboge le “struggle”, batho ba teng, motho o ka gorosa segametse” Then within a year or so of our conversation, he wakes me early in the morning “Rraetsho ke go boleletse gore ha re batho ba sepe. O gopola kgarejwana wa tsala ya rona ko Palapye. Ke bua jaana lekolwane le Gape le re le a mo tsaya. Tota nte ke re Gape o setse a mo tsere (mo gongwe mo ke tsamaiso hela). Go raya gore rona re tla itshalela ka struggle hela” How he loved his son Mozart –I am not sure if Mozart knows, that this is the name I used to refer his father by, long before he was born, and I have to thank you for putting me as part of your video game football team This was Gomolemo the courageous, this was Sir G the visionary, this was Gomolemo the magnificent servant of the people He was no slave to western and foreign cultures His culture, a medley of local cultures and languages, distinguished his poise Truly an African, authentically the African known, A visionary whose eyes saw beyond the rubicon, A peacemaker, a man who was not afraid to speak the truth and act on what is right, A sterling father, a disciplined son Here is a man who would have a fine vice president or even President of the Republic of Botswana This is a song I would have asked him to sing for himself, A song that I ask all of you to sing for yourself I am a giant I am an eagle I am a lion Down in the jungle I am a marchin band I am the people I am a helpin hand And I am a hero If anybody asks u who I am Just stand up tall look em in the Face and say Im that star up in the sky Im that mountain peak up high I made it
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 06:24:13 +0000
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