Sereto gripping tale of murder, betrayal, joy

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Thursday April 16, 2009 00:00

The able scriptwriter of O Bone O Ja Sereto, Cathy D, put her imaginative mind to better use when she crafted this movie, where she underscores the fact that materialism like termites, is eating away at the fabric of society. Fathers and mothers pimp their daughters in order to get money from the 'suitors'. This happens in the movie, and it is right on the mark as it reflects the reality of what happens in normal life, especially among people whose greed knows no bounds. But here in O Bone O Ja Sereto, it is quite a unique story. It tells the story of a man who unwittingly pimps his daughter to a rich man. In a grim twist of fate, Rra Leru, after marrying off his daughter to a rich young man finds out later to his shock that his son-in-law was responsible for killing his (RraLeru's) young child for ritual purposes. As the movie approaches the exeunt Rra Leru is heard cursing, saying that 'Ke jele ngwanake, ke jele sereto (I ate my kid)'. In Setswana the word sereto, which translates to totem, refers to something, either an animate or inanimate object that is venerated and not supposed to be eaten. To eat it is taboo. In the context of this movie, Rra Leru, when he says, Ke jele sereto, he captures the anguish that he is going through at the realisation that he had not only opened his house to his child's killer but also gave his other daughter's hand in marriage to the ritual killer.

O Bone O Ja Sereto is a gripping tale of murder, betrayal and joy as some of the characters in the story go through turbulent situations, but go on to succeed and make it in life against all odds.

Thato, a role played by the popular Ntsoro, real name Joel Keitumele is a poor hired hand who committed the greatest sin against the rich by impregnating the boss' daughter.

He is made to suffer and put through servile conditions where he is given such dehumanising tasks as washing dishes whilst other people are at a wedding party.

As a God-fearing character, Thato tells his heavily pregnant girlfriend not to worry, because 'one day God will answer us'.

As if on cue, a young man comes to the poor couple with a job offer letter from Capital Bank. Thato has been offered a human resource manager's position at a bank in Gaborone. As much as it underlines the fact that there is a supernatural being out there responsible for our well-being, education is also of paramount importance. For an orphan, as in the character of Thato, it is like an inheritance that he definitely needs to free himself of the cloud of poverty that hangs over him. He assumes his post, which enables him to care for his pregnant girlfriend, whom he later marries. He ends up living a dignified life, able to express his views and thoughts without any fear. He becomes more acceptable to the highly materialistic father-in-law, Rra Leru. This movie is a lesson to people like Rra Leru that money is not the panacea.