BDF Day charm remains popular, unmatched
Pini Bothoko | Monday May 22, 2023 12:58
As the defence force celebrated its 46th anniversary over the weekend, this year’s event attracted thousands of enthusiasts across different ages and social divides.
When The Monitor team arrived at around 6:00am, multitudes of patrons had already made their way into the National Stadium with a majority still in long queues fighting their way into the venue.
It was revealed that some of the military enthusiasts had started arriving at the stadium from as early as 4:00am. At around 9:00am this publication caught a glance at events outside the stadium with multitudes of people still in the long queue pleading with the military police to get inside the fully packed stadium.
It was heartwrenching to see masses, especially children, being told to go back home and watch the event on Btv instead as the stadium was full.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi and former president Festus Mogae were amongst thousands who thronged the National Stadium as were the Minister of Defence and Security Kagiso Mmusi and many other senior government officials.
The day’s activities kicked off with Masisi inspecting a Guard of Honour followed by the main parade that started with a slow march and ended with a quick march off the pitch.
Another event that had the crowd enthralled was the civilian participation drill in which three civilians volunteered to be part of the drill imitating the soldiers with the winner scoping P300 in prize money, while the one in second position walking away with P250, and the third and last prize winner walked away with P200 cash.
Members of the public were also entertained by a pantsula dance performed by soldiers, traditional dance, and a choir by members of the BDF and out-of-uniform staff. As usual, the tug-of-war competition between BDF-headquartered staff and BDF ground forces left the masses mesmerised as the beefy men showed off who is the strongest amongst them all in the activity that the former won. The former had won the first and third rounds while the latter only won the second round.
The tug of war continued amongst the BDF women, a competition that the SSKB (Sir Seretse Khama Barracks) and Glen Valley Barracks participated in. At the end, Glen Valley Barracks emerged as winners after acing both rounds.
Moreover, the event that capped the day's celebrations was the drama depicting incidences of gender based violence, fly past, obstacles, and the noisy mock battle as the army demonstrated that they are not spared from the ravages of illicit regimes in some war-torn nations. For a change, this year's event did not end with BDF showcasing its fleet of military hardware as they were displayed by Notwane grounds throughout the day. At the end of the programme, several children who had not made it to the stadium were at Notwane grounds mesmerised by military tanks.