We will all surely miss Mike
Moeti Mohwasa | Monday December 11, 2023 06:00
I first met Mike when we were active in student politics at the University of Botswana (UB). I believe we also served in the editorial board of the UB Scope together. But most importantly, we were members of Mass, the Botswana National Front (BNF) student wing. Mass was formed out of the Botswana Socialist Youth (BSY) and Botswana Student Council (BSC). The merger, by these two groupings was necessary to contain and confront the enemy as a united force.
Members of Mass read a lot of political literature and studied philosophy. Cde Mike was not an anarchist nor an opportunist. I believe that his study of progressive politics and philosophy shaped him. Cyril Smith, a long time Troskyist, argued that any struggle begins with philosophy. It is won and lost on that front. To buttress his point, Smith argues that even if Trotsky had triumphed over Stalin, the results would have been the same as the Bolsheviks, especially after Lenin had died in January 1924, he did not have the philosophical basis for them to take the revolution further.
Any engagement with Mike even when he was not a political practitioner, communicated how well-grounded he was. A revolutionary seed had been planted in him. It has always been argued that, because the training that BNF members go through, you need a thousand top drawer BDP activists to match one product of the BNF political education classes. Regardless of where one goes after undergoing this training, he/she will always stand out.
Mike never took part in the affairs of the BNF when he was a journalist. In fact, he was one of its strongest critics. Probably to bring the best out of it. I have always believed that if you know the full potential of an organisation, you should always set the bar up there and demand more from it.
My interaction with Mike continued when he was a Journalist at Mmegi. This was at a time when I was a stringer, a distributor of the paper in the north and a shareholder. So every now and then when I came to Segogwane Way, the original Gaborone physical address of Mmegi after it moved from Serowe, I would always without failure have a chat with Mike. The conversations would take place in the parking lot. Together with Mesh Moeti, they would always tease me whenever the BNF had some challenges. What stuck out most was when they would mockingly ask me, “Buddy lare ke eng se se tsetseng thobaelo?” and they would burst into laughter that bordered on taunt and jeer. But I took it in strides. They were my brothers. I knew that this gave me a free pass to return the favour in the future. I would just laugh and give them my views on the BNF split. Myself and Mike differed on many issues. Something that was acceptable to us as students of dialectics. The concerned group in the BNF had prepared a dossier entitled, “Se se tsetseng tlhobaelo”. It chronicled how the movement was derailed by the then central committee and MPs following the 1997 Ledumang Congress.
Even when I decided to set up my own newspaper, The Mirror, he was one of the few people I could talk to regarding its challenges and successes. Always providing a shoulder to lean on.
Mike was one of the people I would engage whenever I wanted an independent and unpolluted opinion. After the leadership challenges that hit the BNF following the 2005 Ledumang Congress, I took a decision to visit a number of media houses and had a tete-a tete with them as we felt they were taking sides. By then Mike was the Editor of The Midweek Sun. I passed by his office in the afternoon. I wanted to see Outsa Mokone, a former room-mate at UB as well as they were in the same premises, but he was not in. Outsa was then at the helm of Botswana Guardian. Though Mike was on deadline, he took his time off to see me. We walked out of the office to have a chat in the parking lot, just like we used to when he was at Segogwane Way.
He looked at me and said, you look tired. Indeed I was, I conceded because I was sure it could tell. Telling lies to Mike would be an abomination. I was on my way to watch a movie at Game City. If I am not wrong the movie was called ,“Good night and Good Luck”. It was about a US Senator, Joseph Mc Carthy who was sensational in his analysis of the communist threat.
A man my age going to a cinema on a busy midweek afternoon! Never thought I would do a matinee at that age. Another friend, Modirwa Kekwaletswe insisted that I take time off the high tempo BNF schisms and go for a movie. It worked.
Back to Mike, he said to me, the BNF CC is out to embarrass Moupo. They want him out. Why not ask him to take time off or consider a sabbatical or short absence from BNF leadership until he has sorted out the issues that they are making noise about? He argued further that this would reduce pressure on him which he felt was mounting and buy him time to reorganise himself. I processed this but dismissed it instantly. He insisted that I mull over it. I guess the movies cleared my thought process and I kind of entertained the idea. I immediately after the movie, contacted Cde Basimane Mannaesi, Cde Mmabatshidi Segwabe and Cde Lemme Kgopa who embraced the idea. We went to Cde Moupo’s house in Block 8 and put the suggestion to him. Cde Moupo asked for time to consult. This was on a Tuesday. A Leadership Forum was scheduled for Mahalapye on Saturday morning. The Central committee was to meet at President Hotel on a Friday evening.
Cde Moupo later said yes to our suggestion and we knew his adversaries were not prepared for this. They had during that week sponsored articles calling for his resignation. They wanted to push him to resign at the CC meeting because they knew he was still commanding a lot of support. We then laid in wait for Friday, the big day. Saturday was not big to us because we knew the party rank and file was fully behind Moupo.
Boom, Mmegi hits the streets with a headline, ‘Moupo takes Leave” or something along those lines. Our ambush had been exposed and we knew it was not one of us. Someone that Cde Moupo had confided in betrayed him. The steam had been taken out of our plan, just like we wanted to do the same with theirs. As they say, the rest is history. This is the history that Mike contributed to. Knowing Mike, I believe those from different formations who dared engage him on many issues benefited a lot from his witty thoughts and prowess. He would always give honest perspectives and advice. Mike is one of the people who have taught me that it nourishes you if you interact with people from outside your orbit,. People you differ with.
He has made a positive contribution to the growth of journalism in this country. He was part of a new breed of journalists who had respect for garments, a good dresser. I have not interacted with Mike in the last few years due to geography. He stayed in Kanye while I am in Selebi-Phikwe. But, I know that whoever he interacted with in his life journey will always have fond memories of him. A polite, humble and unassuming character. We will all surely miss Mike and may his soul rest in eternal peace.