Though she was seemingly in a sad mood, one of the prominent members of Notwane Club, Dr Bontshetse Mazile burst into laughter as she spoke about Mpoloka. “I remember laughter when I think of him because he always made people laugh. He was a jolly person. It seemed like he carried a bag of jokes. He always had something to say about anything. There was never a quiet moment when he was around. He had his own way of doing and saying things.
“He had his unique way. He didn’t have to be sanctioned by somebody to say, this is fine. If he wanted to put on a “doek” or take a pot full of Phane to a football match, that was exactly what he would do. He had that level of independence. He did what he believed in, whether it was something serious or on issues of identity.”
Mazile said Swift strongly believed in his cultural identity and seemed to have been proud of what he was. “You could not be with him for five minutes without recognising that he was a Kalanga. This gave pride to some of us who are Kalanga,” she said.
She added that he was also a loveling person. “He could just call me at 7.00 am to find out how I was doing. This shows that he was caring,” she said.
But she could not repeat to a newspaper some of the things that Mpoloka used to say.
“It seems like anything that he said made people laugh. If he walked in, you could feel his presence. There was always laughter at the table that he occupied. Whenever he was around, there was laughter and people used to mingle around him. He always had a crowd with him. If you didn’t want to laugh, you had to sit somewhere else,” said Mazile.
She said Mpoloka was passionate about soccer. “He loved Notwane FC dearly. There were times when he didn’t attend our games because he felt that he was a bad omen. But I think that he was just nervous and this is why he missed the games. We are going to miss the excitement that he used to generate.
He will be dearly missed and everything is going to change,” she said, adding that even their menu at Notwane Club would be affected. She said Mpoloka insisted that they should prepare boiled chicken without any spices.
Mazile said Notwane FC intends to do something in recognition of Mpoloka’s enormous contribution to the team.
Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service for Mpoloka at the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday evening.
One of his relatives, private attorney, Terence Dambe who spoke at the memorial service, left the mourners in stitches as he recalled some of the funny things that his uncle used to say. Dambe recalled one incident when Mpoloka was introducing him to another relative in Marapong “and much to my embarrassment he said the only problem is that this guy is a thief”.
He said Mpoloka always had something to say to anyone, adding that he infected people with his sense of humour. Dambe said Mpoloka always told him that he had a hard time as a youngster growing up in the rural areas, but he managed to make it in life. “He even went to university.” He said he was a dedicated family man who regarded his wife as a personal friend.
Former Botswana High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, Benjamin Makobole described Mpoloka as a modest, humble and unassuming man. “He was a hard working and highly committed family man,” he said.
Makobole said even when they stayed in Harare, Mpoloka was a man of the people. “He was well known and if you met somebody, this person would say, oh so you work with Swift,” he said.
Makobole said Mpoloka used to regal him with his anecdotes when they were traveling to countries like Mozambique. He said his sense of humour was useful in their diplomatic work.
Another speaker described Mpoloka as a “man of all seasons”. Mpoloka who is survived by his wife and two sons, would be buried tomorrow (Saturday) at his home village in Marapong.
Buses have been booked for those who are willing to attend the funeral. Arrangements have also been made with Air Botswana for those able to fly to Francistown.
