Ras Setsiba Leepile, president of Lahupa, a Botswana-based black conscious poetry movement, said that the "black consciousness philosophy is a way of life". He said that the philosophy was relevant to Botswana, as much as it was to South Africa and other countries, which had been under the yoke of colonialism.

Leepile expressed his disappointment with people who shunned the philosophy.

"Some critics feel black consciousness is irrelevant to Botswana. One Radio Botswana (RB) reporter refused to give us an interview saying Biko was irrelevant to Botswana. It's our duty as exponents of black consciousness to make our critics see its importance," he said.

He told his audience that the power struggle between blacks and whites in apartheid South Africa was a microcosm of what was happening between the Third World and the developed North.

"The fact that we are here shows Biko is a fertile field from which future generations will reap," he said.

For his part, Cedric Bapela, who was a youth activist during the 1976 Soweto uprising, related the tense political atmosphere that characterised South Africa. As a student in the then Eastern Transvaal, he witnessed the brutality of the minority white rule, which saw many South African students abandoning their education to fight for freedom. "South Africa was in turmoil immediately after the death of Biko. The already volatile situation erupted into a violent struggle. I was part of the student ringleaders at the forefront of the struggle. Our school was shut down after the headmaster pronounced it as ungovernable," he said.

MELS president, Themba Joina, speaking for the Black Conscious movement in Botswana, also reiterated the fact that black consciousness is relevant to Botswana.

"When a state like Botswana becomes free, culturally the state stays colonised. Black consciousness philosophy says you should be free psychologically and otherwise. In Botswana we are trying to change the environment but are not free. We have no control over our economy. We are one of the largest exporters of raw materials. It's quite surprising that though we have raw materials, we can't make finished products. We look down upon ourselves, and say we can't make rings out of diamonds. Unless we are conscious of ourselves, we can't go anywhere," he said.

Nat Serache, a friend of Steve Biko, was grateful to the people of Botswana, who he said were helpful to a lot of South African anti-apartheid activists, who sometimes sought refuge in Gaborone and her peripheral areas. He said that many Batswana and the government made a lot of sacrifices when apartheid forces rained bombs on Botswana, killing innocent citizens and South African exiles.

Serache, who disclosed that he was mentored by founding Botswana Congress Party (BCP) president and former Robben Island inmate, Michael Dingake, who trained him in the African National Congress (ANC) armed wing, Umkhonto We Sizwe, also related how Biko was killed.

According to him, the author of I write what I like, Biko died brutally at the hands of the infamous security police of the repressive regime. He narrated the events which led to the demise of this great freedom icon with a grief-stricken voice.

"Twenty four hours after being detained by security police in Port Elizabeth where he was severely tortured and sustained serious brain damage. When the police realised he was seriously injured, they transported him to Pretoria, naked, a distance of 1,000km at the back of a van. He died shortly after arrival," he said.

He said that the icon was killed by the apartheid regime because they feared him for his revolutionary ideas and activities, which threatened and questioned the Nationalist regime's stay in power.

"Biko was a revolutionary who wanted a fundamental change, where South Africa would be a free state for people of all races. He didn't enter the struggle to be the next president of South Africa but to help his comrades build a South Africa that is democratic and tolerant of all peoples. He walked with kings but never forgot his roots. He was also a kingmaker. Some people who went through him are cabinet ministers and high profile figures in the South African society. If you see people walking tall in South Africa as premiers, MPs and cabinet ministers it's because they are standing tall on the shoulders of a hero called Steve Biko," he said.