Pension pay-day ‘girlfriends’ cautioned
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday June 16, 2026 11:23
That ugly truth was dragged into the open at the Mokatako Kgotla men’s conference on 11 June, and the village has decided it has seen enough.
Kgosi Omphitlhetse Manyeneng and Deputy Kgosi Tshepo Mosweu presided over the meeting, alongside representatives from the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).
Kgosi Manyeneng told the gathering what everyone knows, but few say aloud. Young women, some still of schoolgoing age, crowd the pension payment centre each month. They sweet-talk pensioners into buying them airtime, shoes, groceries and whatever the hawker has on display that day. The girls themselves are said to boast about it afterwards, saying the money must be finished before the old man gets home.
Quizzed to speak further on the issue, Manyeneng said the trend was worrying and seemed to be on the rise. “None of the elders have reported such. But I noticed it, and some people brought it to my attention as well. That is why we decided to address it and intend on making sure that we protect our elders,” she said.
The Kgotla resolved that this is not love; it is not courtship, but simple theft by charm. Paydays will now be monitored, names taken, and the authorities informed. The pensioners’ money, the conference declared, belongs to the pensioners.
Meanwhile, parents stood and admitted that they have lost control of their own houses. Teenagers refuse chores, live in bars and shebeens, and when a parent raises a hand or a voice, the child shouts “abuse” and reaches for a phone to call the police. The kgotla told parents that the law does not ban them from raising their children and urged them to take back their homes. Uncles who have drifted away from family duty were called back sharply to assist their sisters.
Young men were also cautioned that the habit of throwing money at girlfriends to prove one’s worth is not manhood, but it is weakness. “A young man empties his pockets to impress, then empties his neighbour’s kraal to refill them. When the girl eventually leaves for a man with a bigger car, the heartbreak turns dangerous,” one villager lamented.
Parents of daughters were also cautioned against their children arriving home with bags that no salary in the house can explain, dropped off by a different car each weekend. “Your silence makes you part of whatever is happening. Ask the hard questions before the situation asks them for you,” they added.
The farmers’ frustration boiled over when the issue of stock theft was discussed. They lamented that seventeen goats were stolen in one night, five slaughtered inside the kraal, and police say there is no vehicle yet, but roadblocks sprout everywhere, sometimes inside foot-and-mouth control zones. The gathering resolved to escalate the matter formally to police commanders. Cross-border talks with traditional leaders in South Africa will also be sought, because the kingpins are said to operate across the border.
Practical defences were agreed, with the advice that every household should keep a guard dog, perform night checks, hang neck bells on livestock, and keep a whistle close at hand.
All of this will be carried forward to a joint meeting of men and women, scheduled for 14 July 2026, at the same Kgotla.