Days after, the belligerents continue to trade invectives across the smoldering wreck of their once seemingly formidable political outfit. Yes, we have been down this road before. I recall how, as a young prosecutor, I was assigned a docket on the Palapye riots, out of which the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) emerged. In one case, a Mercedes Benz belonging to a prominent political figure was ruined and a young Botswana National Front (BNF) activist stood alone to face the wrath of the law.
I vividly recall an occasion when devoid of means, the young man hitched a ride back to Gaborone in the government vehicle I was using. Oh yes, we had hearts. We had no issues giving an accused person a ride in a deserving case. But we never befriended them, or accepted any favours. And boy, they were many and often, of a very personal variety. A young lady once offered me a hug in front of a supermarket. By the time it dawned on me that I had seen her in court among an accused person’s relatives, I was reeling from a blistering kiss straight on the lips. My good friend and fellow prosecutor, Bafi Nlanda, had the same experience. To our credit we declared our experiences to our bosses the next morning.
