Dikgosi drilled on GBV issues
Spira Tlhankane | Tuesday June 17, 2025 10:45
The workshop, which started on Monday, runs until June 26, 2025 and it is the first business in the Third Meeting of the Fifth Ntlo Ya Dikgosi.
The workshop titled 'Ntlo ya Dikgosi Capacity Building on Gender Development as well as Sexual and Reproductive Health' is held under the theme 'Ntlo Ya Dikgosi against Gender Based Violence. Moremogolo go betlwa wa taola, wa motho o a ipetla'.
House chairperson, Kgosi Malope II, emphasised the need for the workshop as GBV spirals out of control.
He said usually the house spends the first week engaging with different government departments but this time they put that aside and saw the need to address the GBV scourge.
'You all know that GBV concerns us as a country. The truth is we see it and it has taken away our children, tribes, and the nation as large.
'The action we have taken is a huge appeal from Ntlo Ya Dikgosi and that we have to make a self-reflection and go back to the crossroads which define us as a nation,' he said during the official opening of the meeting yesterday, the.
Kgosi Malope emphasised that Botswana is not synonymous with fights and violence but rather members of the society used to live in peace like siblings in the past.
He urged people to follow the Setswana saying which promotes solving disputes by engaging in mediation talks instead of violence.
'Molemo wa kgang ke go buiwa. Physical assault and verbal abuse are not the solution. Killing is not a decision we can be proud of,' he pointed out. Kgosi Malope II also said members of the public usually seek intervention from dikgosi whenever there are disputes.
He, therefore, said there was a need for the tribal leaders to understand fully how GBV affects people emotionally and physically.
He said dikgosi as tribe leaders are responsible for building morafe and maintaining peace in the society hence the importance of the workshop.
Kgosi Malope II added that the intention is to also make a documentary after the workshop, a documentary they wish to air on state broadcaster, BTV.
He said they will also make resolutions as Ntlo Ya Dikgosi and share them with members of the public. He said Ntlo Ya Dikgosi will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with United Nations Population Fund to find a permanent solution to issues of GBV.
Besides the police and the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs, the workshop will also attract stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.